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EXPLORATIONS 



AND ADVENTURES IN 



HONDURAS, 



666 



COMPRISING 



SKETCHES OF TRAVEL IN THE GOLD REGIONS OF OLANCHO, 



AND A REVIEW OF THE HISTORY AND GENERAL RESOURCES OP 



Central America. 



WITH ORIGINAL MAPS, AND NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS. 

< 

BY WILLIAM V: WELLS. 




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NEW YOEK: 

HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 

FRANKLIN SQUARE. 

1857. 




Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred 
and fifty-seven, by 

HAEPEE & BEOTHEES, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. 



' w^^ 



CORNELIUS K. aARRISON, ESQ., 

TO WHOSE COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE IS DUE A LARGE SHARE OF THE 

PRESENT FACILITIES FOR OCEAN NAVIGATION BETWEEN 

THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC STATES, 

a:l)is bolutne ia res^sectfulls InscribelJ. 



PREFACE. 



The journey of which the following pages form a diary, 
afterward somewhat elaborated by facts collected in Honduras, 
was conceived in California in 1853, and based upon reliable 
information, which since 1851 had been placed at my disposal, 
regarding the gold regions of Central America. Its principal 
object was a reconnoissance of that part of the republic of Hon- 
duras known as Olancho, which in 1850 had been visited by a 
gentleman now residing in New York, and by him, on his re- 
turn, represented to be "another California," equaling the new 
El Dorado in auriferous deposits, and excelling it in position 
and accessibility. 

The advantages of this country had for some time been the 
theme of discussion. From the limited information that could 
be collected in San Francisco, and the papers in my possession, 
it appeared that on the head-waters of the streams taking their 
rise in the mountains of Honduras and falling into the Caribbean 
Sea — particularly the Guayape or Patook — there were deposits 
of gold (placers) in every way similar to those of California ; 
that these were accessible by a navigable river, the mouth of 
which was within three days steaming of New Orleans and 
seven of New York ; that the climate of this region, althougli 
in the tropics, was equable and salubrious ; that the government 
liad manifested a favorable disposition toward foreign enter- 
prises ; and that, in addition to its mineral wealth, the country 
teemed with valuable woods and drugs, and produced spontane- 
ously all the tropical staples. 

At that time gold had been discovered at several unexpected 
points throughout the world. In Australia, Oregon, Peru, and 
Sonora, the adventurous miner, nerved to activity by the exam- 
ple of California, had struck the golden deposits, and in the two 



xii PEEFACE. 

first instances with a success rivaling California itself. The 
era of gold that had apparently dawned upon the world, swell- 
ing the amount produced from $50,000,000 to the startling sum 
of $200,000,000 annually, and coming from regions until then 
unknown to merchants and geographers, led to the reflection 
that similar deposits might exist in Honduras, which in past 
centuries had been known as gold-bearing, and was now the 
field of Indian labors, conducted with the rude implements of a 
semi-civilized race. 

Neither books nor maps relating to Honduras could at that 
time be found in California. The able work of Mr. E. G. Squier 
on Nicaragua, so admired for its delightful narrative style and 
valuable ethnological facts, had been with difficulty obtained ; 
but that author had not then made his second visit to Central 
America, and consequently the valuable information he has since 
given to the world on Honduras had not been published. The 
works and maps of English and other foreign writers on Central 
America had never reached the Pacific coast — even their names 
were unknown. But, had these been accessible, they would 
have proved useless as guides, owing to their authors' ignorance 
of the country I proposed to visit, particularly of Eastern Hon- 
duras and the extensive section drained by the Guayape. This 
river, in some maps, even as late as 1855, is made a tributary 
of the Roman or Aguan, discharging into the Caribbean Sea 
near Truxillo, when it is actually the Patook itself, but bearing 
in the interior a distinct name. The topography of the country 
seems to have been thrown in hap-hazard to fill up unsightly 
blanks in maps of which only the coast-lines, in some instances, 
were correct, a circumstance due to the accurate Admiralty sur- 
veys. In fact, as I afterward ascertained, Honduras was as 
much a terra incognita as the interior of Japan. 

The accompanying map of Eastern Honduras is the result of 
no little labor, and, though not embracing a very extended space 
of territory, corrects the absurd blunders appearing in all pre- 
ceding ones of Olancho. The distances between the principal 
towns and haciendas and their location I generally ascertained 
fi:om personal observation, assisted by the information readily 
accorded me by the most intelligent residents. No map from 
actual survey, to my knowledge, has ever been made of this se- 



PREFACE. xiii 

eluded country, except a rude and incorrect one, sent, in 1851, 
to Seiior Rugame, of Nacaome, by a native of Truxillo, who had 
formed a rough tracing of Olancho for the purpose of locating 
certain government grants of land on which to prosecute mahog- 
any-cutting. The few interior towns introduced toward the line 
of the proposed inter-oceanic rail-road are according to the map 
of Mr. E. G. Squier. Should Olancho hereafter become the field 
of extended scientific surveys, there will he found, I think, but 
few errors in the present map, and such as an unaided and in- 
experienced traveler could scarcely avoid committing. 

On leaving California, I had no other view than to report to a 
number of gentlemen in San Francisco, who had become inter- 
ested in my proposed enterprise of procuring from the govern- 
ment of Honduras the right to work gold placers, and to estab- 
lish commercial stations for the export of hides, timber, dye- 
woods, and other valuables, by the River Guayape or Patook, 
from the department of Olancho. But, upon considering how 
little was then known of Honduras, I determined, after my ar- 
rival, in addition to the duties I had specified for myself, to de- 
vote some part of every day to a diary or journal of passing- 
events, embracing the peculiarities ot character and customs, 
and the general occurrences of travel among a primitive and se- 
cluded people. 

With this view, during nearly a year's travel, extending over 
a thousand miles, mostly on mule-back, and visiting in that time 
thirty-eight Central American towns and settlements, I collected 
every thing that seemed likely to shed any light upon the his- 
tory and natural resources of the country. Coins, portraits, bo- 
tanical, mineralogicalj and ornithological specimens ; pamphlets 
of every description, thrown off during fifty years by the local 
presses ; old books, gacetas, diarios, and manuscripts, and a se- 
ries of drawings executed by Senor Laso, of Tegucigalpa, who 
accompanied me into Olancho, enabled me, on my return, to throw 
together facts enouo-h to warrant their embodiment in the form 
of a printed volume. Some of my most interesting portraits, 
maps, and views of scenery, I have unfortunately mislaid, and 
these can not be accurately replaced. 

The historical and political part, p. 449-522, embodies some 
facts hitherto unpublished, and is presented simply as a brief 



^jy iKEFA.CE. 

sketch of this interesting portion of the continent from the dis- 
covery to the present daj, without aspiring to the dignity of a 
history. The Spanish historians have been consulted in chap- 
ter xxiii., as well as several more modern writers, in relation 
to the Spanish colonial government. As has heen observed by 
an English author, " So little of the internal history of Hondu- 
ras has been handed down to us through the dark ages of the 
Spanish dominion, that the few facts we can glean by the glim- 
mering and suspicious light which the corsairs have afforded 
us serve rather as milestones of their existence than as details 
of events connected with their fate." 

The so-called mystery enveloping the kingdom of Guatemala 
after the establishment of the Spanish colonial system, extend- 
ing uninterruptedly through the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, 
and into the 19th, has been partially dissipated by the historian 
of the country, Juarros, from whom I have made occasional ex- 
tracts. This work, originally published in Guatemala in 1811, 
in nine volumes, and subsequently abridged by its author, is 
but little known in the United States, where it seems to be con- 
lined to the libraries of Spanish scholars. Probably less is 
known of the early history of Guatemala than of any other 
Spanish American country. The investing of that strange and 
vyondrous overrunning of a nation by Alvarado and a handful 
of mailed followers with the graces of an Irving or Prescott has 
yet to be accomplished. The field, immense as it is, and open- 
ing, through the dusty pages of the old Spanish authors tales 
of chivalric deeds long forgotten, is perhaps the most inviting 
left to the modern historian. 

The groundwork of the events detailed" in chapters xxiv.-v. 
I have obtained from the brief historical sketch by Mr. R. G. 
Dunlop, in his " Travels in Central America," where he pre- 
sents a political resume extending from 1821 to 1847. The 
interesting chapters by Mr. E. G. Squier, apparently drawn 
from the same source, and Marure and Montufar, present these 
facts in a more significant and systematic form. The principal 
historical facts, however, I obtained in Honduras from manu- 
scripts and official papers, most of which are still in my posses- 
sion, and the verbal narrations of persons taking prominent 
parts in the revolutions. The historical sketch in " The Gos- 



PREFACE. XV 

pel in Central America" has also been consulted. This, as its 
author, Mr. Crowe, states, is based upon Mr. Dunlop's chapters 
on that subject. 

There has been devoted, perhaps, unmerited space to the 
Invents connected with the history and death of Morazan. 
These pages, however, are but a small portion of the manu- 
scripts placed in my hands by his son-in-law, Don Estevan 
Travieso, of Tegucigalpa ; and it is owing to my promise at 
that time to publish a brief summary of their contents that I 
was first induced to prepare the political sketch. 

The narrative of adventures, as I have observed, is simply a 
transcript of my diary, which was kept without a day's inter- 
mission. This, in the solitudes through which the traveler must 
pass, served rather as an agreeable occupation than a task. Only 
desultory selections could be made from it in forming the present 
volume. But few pages have been devoted to Nicaragua, as a 
country more familiar to the general reader, and Olancho (the 
object of my expedition) has been reached as quickly as possi- 
'ole. In speaking of this part of my journey, I can only repeat 
what has already been said in the articles arranged from my 
notes and recently published in Harper's Magazine. Imagine 
the vegetable and mineral wealth of New England and Virginia 
intensified tenfold ; the same genera of plants and trees, Amer- 
ican in tint and physiognomy ; our own northern June greens 
and September browns alternating with the same familiar ever- 
green tints, but firmer, richer, and more varied and expanded in 
every way. It is the New World at its best — its summit of 
beauty and utility. The aphorism of Lord Bacon, that knowl- 
edge is power, and by converse, that ignorance is weakness, ex- 
emplifies itself in the ignorance of the American people regard- 
ing the real character of the interior of tropical America. 
Since ray return, I have frequently noticed summer scenery in 
Massachusetts, particularly between Brighton and Cambridge, 
of which I remembered Olancho as the glowing counterpart, but 
far excelling the northern picture in softness and delicacy of 
outline. 

In relation to this, one feels a hesitation in describing scenes 
of such rare beauty, and is tempted not so much to give his 
picture the couleur de rose as to bare it of its legitimate beauty, 



ttyJ PivEJFACE. 

lest the reader smile, incredulous of what goes so far beyond 
the experience of ordinary life. As the multitude take the ex- 
pression of something they have never felt for an absurdity, so 
the description of what they have never seen appears ridiculous 
and overdrawn, especially if it should be at all calculated to 
" stroke the prejudices the wrong way." 

The intimacy which steam navigation has established be- 
tween the United States and Spanish America, and the increas- 
ing interest taken in those countries, which until recently have 
been comparatively excluded from the world, point out the 
American tropics as destined, at no distant time, to become a 
prominent field of enterprise. Until lately, the constantly-re- 
produced quotations from gazetteers and encyclopsedias have 
been the main sources of information regarding Honduras — a 
state, in all probability, to become a highway of nations across 
the continent and the source of great mineral wealth. As yet, 
the country sits enthroned in silence and solitude, apparently 
only to be broken by the advance of foreign civilization and in- 
dustry. 
New York, November 5, 1856. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTEE I. 

Objects of the Journey to Olancho. — Departure from California. — San Juan del 
Sur. — New York Passengers. — The Road to Virgin Bay. — Sceneiy. — Climate. 
— Ometepe. — Storni on Lake Nicaragua. — New Acquaintances. — The War. — 
Departure for Rivas. — Lake Nicaragua. — Rio Lejas. — Crossing a Quick-sand. 
— Night in the Woods. — A tropical Thunder-storm. — Rivas. — A moonlight 
Ramble. — " Quien vive f Page 2n 

CHAPTER II. 
Rivas. — ^Evidence of an older City. — Depai-tment Meridional. — Agriculture. — 
Country Houses. — Productions. — Dwelling-houses. — Hacienda of Santa Ursu- 
la. — Cacao Planting. — Scenery. — Boa Constrictor. — An Alarm. — Jose Ber- 
mudas. — Women. — Piety. — Bust of Washington. — Earthquakes. — Difficulties 
of Departure. — The Start. — Obraje. — Oracion.— Tropical Scenery. — Las Can- 
delleras. — Right of Search. — The Camp. — Shooting Deer. — Valley of Nau- 
dyme. — Ochomogo. — Startling News. — The Retreat. — Hacienda de San Fran- 
cisco. — Las Tortilleras. — ^A Night's March. — Rivas again 39 

CHAPTER HI. 

A Visit to the Conunandante Militar. — Good-by to Rivas. — San Juan del Sur 
again. — The " Tres Amigos." — At Sea on the Coast of Nicaragua. — Fellow- 
passengers. — Morning. — Port of Realejo. — The Town. — Convent of San Fran- 
cisco. — Hidden Treasures. — Ride to Chinandega. — Arrival. — Reception at 
house of SenorMontealegre. — Novel method of Taxation. — Thunder-storm. — r 
A Morning Bath. — Foreign Prejudices. — A Nicaraguan Elysium 58 

CHAPTER IV. 

Chinandega. — Churches. — Dwellings. — Female Beauty. — Dress. — Smoking Ci- 
garros. — Religion. — Ceremonies. — Amusements. — Evening Paseo. — Night. — 
The Tienda. — Trade. — Education. — Start for Leon. — The Road. — Chichigal- 
pa, — Tiste. — Mr. Manning. — Posultega. — La Posada. — A Nicaraguan Belle. 
— Novel method of Begging. — El Aguacero. — Hacienda de Paciente. — Drunk- 
en Soldiers. — Las Tortilleras. — Rio Quisalhuague. — Approach to Leon. — 
Bells. — Religious Ceremony. — Dr. Livingston. — Independent Evening 72 

CHAPTER V. 
Independent Day. — Leon. — Revolution of 1854. — A Texan's method of keeping 
his Men. — Leon and Granada a centuiy and a half ago. — The Cathedral. — 
Churches. — A Visit to President Castellon. — Appearance of Government Of- 
ficers. — Ex-President Ramierez. — " Chico Dias." — Society. — La Casa del Go- 
bierno. — A Proposition. — Patriotism. — Saddles. — Rain in Nicaragua. — De- 



XVIU 



CONTENTS. 



parture from Leon.— A Morning Gallop.— Superb Scenery.— Chinandega.— 
Tiste. — Fruit. — More Assessments. — An Alarm. — Cacherula. — Nicaraguan 
Women. — Preparations for Departure. — Separation of the Party. — Departure. 

El Viejo. — Shooting a Monkey. — Zempisque. — The "Horrors." — A Bongo 

del Golfo. — The Patron. — Embarkation. — Estero Eeal. — Scenery. — "Com- 
fort." — La Playa Grande. — An Adventure. — Bay of Fonseca Page 90 

CHAPTEE VI. 

Bay of Fonseca. — Bongo Sailing. — Agua Dulce. — ^Volcano of Conchagua. — The 
Eruption of 1835. — Present Appearance. — A CImhasco. — Night in the Bay. — 
Morning. — Tigre Island. — ^Port Amapala. — Commercial Advantages. — Eecep- 
tion. — "La Calentura." — Future Prospects of the Island. — Honduras Inter- 
oceanic Eail-road. — Game. — Hunting Excursion. — Cerro. — The Buccaneers. 
—British Aggressions. — A Deer. — Playa Bravo. — Turtle Eggs.— The Urraca. 
— Juacamalla. — Sensonte. — Productions. — The Saw-mill. — President Caba- 
nas. — Climate. — Trade of Amapala 118 

CHAPTEE Vn. 

A Tiger-hunt on Sacate Grande.— Esposescion. — Oysters. — Fish.— Alligators. — 
A Svirimming Escape. — Life in Amapala. — Arrival of Don Carlos and Fami- 
ly. — Grand Festivities. — Preparations for Departure. — " Hurrying up" a Bon- 
go-man. — Another Night in the Bay. — La Brea. — Nocturnal Visitors. — A 
Night Eamble.— Eesolutions for the future. — The Road to Nacaome. — Agua 
Caliente. — Iguanas. — ^Nacaome.— La Senora Caret. — Visiting. — A Review. — 
Climate. — An old Speculator. — Honduras Coal-mines. — Pastimes. — New 
method of expelling Dogs.— Demand for Medical Services,— A foreign " Med- 
ico." — A Serenade 139 

CHAPTEE Vni. 

Crossing the Moromulca and Nacaome.— Sierra Traveling in Central America, 
— Advice to Travelers. — Mules.— Saddles. — Hiring Servants. — ^Pleasures of 
the Journey. — Bathing Places. — " Cubiertos." — How to please Don Fulano. 
—The Plain of Nacaome.— A Cascade. — A Look back. — Respire.- An oblig- 
ing Alcalde. — ^A Bevy of Beauties. — Oracion. — "iVb hay para vender!" — Swim- 
ming Match with the Belles of Respire. — " Adios !" — Natural Productions. — 
Some of the wild Birds 155 

CHAPTEE IX. 

Note-taking, — Sugar-loaf Mountain. — Cinnabar. — Foliage. — Mountain Scenery. 
— Mansanita. — A dizzy Precipice. — La Venta. — The Alcalde. — "El Ministro 
Americano!" — Famine among the Villagers. — Padre Ramierez's Ideas of 
Protestantism. — How to get a Dinner. — Plantains. — View from the Cordille- 
ras. — Savanna Grande. — Padre Domingo. — Hacienda de Trinidad. — Wedding 
in the Mountains. — An Adventure. — Meeting a Bridal Party. — Lost in the 
Sierra. — A midnight Storm. — Nueva Arcadia. — Pine Forests. — Cerro de Ule. 
— Another Adventure. — Fording el Rio Grande, — Ahorcadores. — Approach to 
Tegucigalpa. — The City. — First Impressions 166 

CHAPTEE X. 

Interview with President Cabanas. — Personal Appearance. — Opinion of Olan- 
cho. — Past and Present of Tegucigalpa. — Churches.— "La Paroquia." — A 



CONTENTS. xix 

Serenade. — Sunday Scenes. — The Plaza Market. — Morning. — Bill of Fare. — 
Liquors. — Chocolate. — Bread. — Potatoes. — Manners at Table. — Servants. — 
Style of Building. — Courtesies of Visiting. — Flowers and Flower Gardens. — 
Birds. — Amalgamation. — Jealousies of the Blacks. — The Liberal Party. — 
Health of Natives. — Couriers. — Amusements. — Dullness of the City.. Page 182 

CHAPTEE XI. 

Traveling Preparations. — Mounted Caballeros. — The Bridge. — Scenes on the 
Kiver. — Public Manners. — Gambling. — Begging. — Tailoring. — Cabanas on 
Horseback. — A Visit to the Cuartel. — Academia Literaria de Tegucigali^a. — 
An Examination. — A Ball in High Life. — Baptism. — Visit to the Mint. — A 
Honduras Guerrilla. — Fishing in the Eio Grande. — Meeting an American. — 
House Architecture. — Furniture. — Women of Honduras. — Passing Compli- 
ments. — Public Amusements. — Cock-fighting 200 

CHAPTER XIL 
Tardy Officials. — A Vi^it to a Hacienda de Caiia. — Flour-mill. — Buildings. — 
Distillery. — Sugar-mill. — Honduras Cane. — Fruit. — Cassava. — Yuca. — Mak- 
ing Starch. — Sweet Potato. — Chili Peppers. — Contrayerba. — Productions of 
the Department. — A Dinner at El Sitio. — El Comojen. — El Diario de Marina. 
— An Evening Scene. — Las Tienderas. — Shops. — Trade. — Fashions. — Dresses. 
— Ladies of Honduras. — Female Beauty. — Equestrianism. — Lack of Educa- 
tion. — Children's Dresses. — Political Matters. — Jose Francisco Barrundia. — 
The Death Penalty. — Security in Traveling 217 

CHAPTER XHL 

The gi'eat Einiption of Consiguina. — Phenomena in the interior of Honduras'. — 
Central American Volcanoes. — Eruption of "San Miguel." — "Minerales de 
Plata." — Preparations for Olancho. — The Guayape Gold Region : its Access- 
ibility ; Obscurity. — Fabulous Accounts. — Favorable Resiilts with the Gov- 
ernment. — Ho ! for the Guayape. — Leaving Town. — My Mule-train. — Catch- 
ing Soldiers. — Rio Abajo. — Dr. Don Guillenno again. — Cofradilla. — The Road 
to Talanga. — A Feast in Talanga. — St. James intoxicated. — Las Cuevas. — 
An Allspice- tree 230 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Night in the Sierra. — A Norther in the Vindel Mountains. — Perils of the Pass. — 
Guaymaca. — A Midnight Reception. — "Tired Nature's Sweet Restorer." — 
Preparing for the "Funcion." — Hunting for a Breakfast. — Squalid Misery. — 
A Mountain Scene. — Volcan de Guaymaca. — Salto. — El Rio Rodondo. — A 
Source of the Guayape. — Inaugural Ceremonies. — Campamento. — Mary of the 
Holy Cross. — Midnight Musings. — An Earthquake. — Appearance of the Cam- 
pamento Range. — Cold Weather. — Glowing Accounts by "las Lavaderas." — 
Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficulties. — Gold Washing in the Rio de Con- 
cordia. — Visions. — Rio Guayapita. — Rio Almendarez. — El Valle de Lepa- 
guare. — Cattle. — Scenery of the Valley 251 

CHAPTER XV. 

The Sensitive Plant. — Ferns. — Fleur de Lis. — Bay-trees. — Rio Almendarez.— 
La Lima. — Eio Guayape. — Hacienda de San Juan. — Valley of Lepaguare.- — 
An Olancho Cattle Estate. — Lepaguare. — General Zelaya. — Our Reception. — 



XX 



CONTENTS. 



An lUumination. — Conversations. — Political Condition of Olancho. — Topog- 
raphy of the Department. — Map-making. — Equestrian Excursions. — The Cli- 
mate. — Popular Bugbears. — A Landscape.^Route to the Guayape. — Aspect 
of the Country. — Valley of the Guayape. — "El Murcielego." — "Las Lavade- 
i-as." — Gold Washing. — Old Machinery. — Native Geography. — " LaMaquina." 
— Making a Gold-rocker. — The first Cradle in Olancho. — Rich Diggings. — 
Great Excitement among the Natives. — Evidences of old Mines and Aborig- 
inaV Workings. — The Buccaneers. — A Gallop to Barroza. — The five Brothers 
-Writing a History Page 268 



CHAPTER XVI. 
A Ride in the Valley of Lepaguare. — A "bueno Jinete" of Olancho. — The Va- 
nilla Vine : how it grows. — Susceptible of Cultivation. — The Vanilla Trade. — 
Productions of Olancho. — ^Wild Berries. — Another Excursion. — Hacienda do 
Galeras. — ^Wild Horses. — Mounted Vaqueros. — The Road to El Rio Moran. — 
Palis of the Moran. — Deer and Antelope. — The Temperature. — Coast Fevers. 
— Ho ! for Jutecalpa. — Galeras again. — A Birth-day Dinner. — Mammoth Ta- 
ble-top. — Sheep and Wolves. — The Vale of Paradise. — Dissolving Views. — 
— Golden Rhapsodies. — A Bath with the Mocking-birds. — Leaving Galeras.^ — 
Kindness of the Zelayas. — The Start for Jutecalpa 291 

CHAPTER XVn. 

Gold Washings on the Rio de Jutecalpa. — The Road. — Lignum Vitis-trees. — 
Monte de Aguacate. — ^Dry Gulches. — Mamaisaca. — More Lavaderas. — Buying 
Gold Dust.— Monte Eucaitado. — The Campanilla. — Scenery on the Road.^ — 
Feathered Horticulturists. — Jutecalpa. — View from the Mountain. — First 
Impressions. — The Church. — Introductions. — Don Francisco Garay. — One of 
the Hidalgos of Olancho. — The Padres Cubas and Buenaventura. — Liberal 
Offers. — Map-making. — The Climate. — Jutecalpa in the Olden Time. — Don 
Opolonio Ocampo. — An Adventure with the Warees. — More Gold-washing. — 
The Liquid Amber-tree. — Preparations for the Funcion. — Applicants for Pock- 
et-money. — ^An Olancho Patriarch. — The " Plaza de Toros." 306 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

The Streets. — ^A Visit to the Church. — Scene in the Plaza.— Feather Robes. — 
Population of Jutecalpa. — Merry Spectacle. — The Bolero and Fandango. — 
Olancho Poetry. — A Feu de Joie. — Dinner with the Padre. — Arrival of Vis- 
itors. Orange Marmalade. — Tamarind Ambrosia. — First Day of the Funcion. 

How the Girls and Gallants ride. — Corraling the Bulls. — A crazy Race. — 

Church Ceremonies. — Processions. — Bull-fighting. — ^Riding a horned Steed. — 
A golden Chispa. — Pure Air. — Gold and Silver Bells. — A social Party. — "roco 
a poco" — ^Dona Ysabel. — Buying Gold Dust. — The Valley of Concepcion. — 
More "Rainbow Scenery." — Racing with a Priest. — Site for an American 
Town 324 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Precious Woods of Olancho.— The " Cortes."— El Retiro.— A Gold Mill.— An 
Olancho Machinist. — Monte Rosa. — Boxwood. — Valley of the Guayape.— San 
Francisco.— Rio Jalan. — A Forest Scene. — The Mahogany Trade. — Corte 
Sara. — Preparing for the Cutting. — Las Tortilleras. — Location of the Cortes. 
—Roads.— Cutting.— Sawing.— Dragging.— Rafting.— Pii>aJ2ies. — Navigating 



CONTENTS. xxi 

the Patook. — Kio Jalan. — Its Gold Placers. — Americans in Olancho. — The 
Guayape Gold Region. — Red Plumiria. — Wild Silk. — A7-a7ia de Seda. — Route 
alono- the Jalan. — Quebracha. — A Fixndanyo. — Lake of Quebracha. — Don Ga- 
briel. — Hard Fare. — Baked Armadillo. — A Golden Legend. — Hunting. — Tou- 
can. — Tapir. — Blue-winged Teal. — Wild Turkey. — Birds of Olancho. — Tapis- 
cuinte. — Familiar Animals Page 341 

CHAPTER XX. 

Fishing at Quebracha. — Plants and Flowers. — Cayamuela. — Cinnamon-tree. — 
Lobelia. — Sassafras. — Wild Lidigo. — Sarsaparilla. — Manner of Collecting. — 
Flaxseed. — Plans for the Future. — A Trip to Palo Verde. — Silver and Copper 
Mines. — Mai-ble. — Loadstone. — Cinnabar. — Preparations for Catacamas. — 
Mountains of Jutequile. — Solitude. — A Trout Stream. — India-rubber-tree. — 
Trade. — The Jippa. — Ornithological Music. — Clarionet-bird. — Telica. — Con- 
ception Flower. — San Roque. — Mules and Horses. — Breaking a Colt. — ^Palms. 
— Vino de. Coyol. — Hacienda of Herradura. — Gold Legends. — Gold Net-sink- 
ers and Horseshoes. — A curious Will. — "The good old Colony Times." — 
Olancho Viejo. — Separation of the Party. — El Boqueron 362 

CHAPTER XXI. 

The Legend of Olancho Viejo. — La Corona de Cuero. — A Golden Statue. — De- 
struction of the Town. — Desolation. — Appearance of the Ruins. — Hacienda of 
Penuare. — Chichilaca. — Bees. — Honey. — El Real. — Padre Morillo. — Skeleton 
Cattle. — An Olanchano at Home. — A Touch of the Calmtura. — La Higadera. — 
English Enterprises. — A Marriage Story. — Alligators. — The Road to Cataca- 
mas. — Scene at Sunrise. — Adventure with a Cougar. — The Ferine Animals of 
Olancho. — Catacamas. — Appearance of the Town. — Trade. — Indian Inhabit- 
ants. — A Ride to the Guayape. — ^A Macaw Convention. — ^Feather Robes. — 
Scene on the River. — Santa Clara. — ^Deer Stalking. — Quehrantehuesos. — Veg- 
etable Ivory. — A Death Scene 379 

CHAPTER XXH. 

The Platinal. — Plantains : their Cultivation. — Ancient Ideas respecting. — The 
Route home. — Pita. — Deer-skins. — Burning the Bolpochi. — Description of 
venomous Snakes. — ^Antidotes. — After the Ceremonies. — A nocturnal Prowl- 
er. — Peruvian Bark. — Rice. — The Olancho Air-gun. — Tobacco. — Return to 
Jutecalpa. — Gold Stories. — Musical Reunion. — Commissions. — The Depart- 
ure. — Lepaguare again. — A Visit to the Espumoso. — Mining Adventures. — 
Making a Contract. — " Kissing the Widow." — Cold Weather. — Hail. — Jote- 
jiagua. — The Gold of El Panal. — El Retiro. — Gold at Alajagua. — Rio de 
Espana. — ^A novel Method of Fishing. — Jutecalpa again. — ^Bad News. — Musty 
Documents. — Early Settlers. — A Morning Ride. — Good-by to Olancho... 400 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Guaymaca. — La Nina Alvina. — Talanga. — A night in the House of Don Gregorio 
Moncada. — Cofradilla. — DonaTomasa. — Tegucigalpa. — Hospitable Reception. 
— Silver. — ^The Minerales of Tegucigalpa. — A trip to Santa Lucia.— La Mina 
Grande. — Silver Mill. — The Road. — Descent into la Mina de San Martin. — 
Method of extracting the Ores. — La Mina de Gatal. — Want of Machinery and 
Knowledge. — Foimer Productiveness. — Present Yields. — Speculations on the 
Origin of Silver. — A Taladro. — A Campana. — ^Wandering Miners. — Ascent of 



:xii CONTENTS. 

el Monte de Santa Lucia. — Villa Nueva. — La Mina de Pena. — La Mina du 
Zopilote. — Primitive Smelting process. — Copper-hill of El Chimbo. — Captain 
Moore. — Legends of the Mines. — La Mina de Guayabillas. — Story of its Dis- 
covery. — The Arjenal Family. — English Enterprise. — " La Fatalidad del Pais." 
— Last Days of the Guayabilla Mine. — Departure for Home. — Amapala again. 
— The War. — " The Walker Contract." — Bay of Fonseca by Moonlight. — At 
Sea in a Launch. — Realejo. — San Juan. — An American Steam-ship. — 
Home Page 421 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

HISEORICAL SKETCH OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 1502 1821. 

Aboriginal Inhabitants of Honduras. — Columbus first lands on the American 
Continent. — Early Settlement of the Coast. — Exploration and Settlement of 
the Interior. — Cortez at Truxillo. — Expeditions into Olancho. — Subjugation 
of the Indians. — Missionary Expeditions into Olancho and Segovia. — Estab- 
lishment of Spanish Sovereignty. — The Colonial System of Spain. — Causes of 
the Central American Revolution. — Declaration of Independence 449 

CHAPTER XXV. 

HISTORICAL SKETCH OP CENTRAL AMERICA. 1821 1843. 

The Central American Republic. — The Serviles and Liberals. — Francisco Mo- 
razan. — The Republic in Prosperity. — Rafael Carrera. — Dissolution of the 
Union. — Morazan a Fugitive. — Triumph of the Serviles. — Return of Morazan. 
— His Betrayal and Death 467 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

HISTORICAL SKETCH OP CENTRAL AMERICA. 1843 — 1857. 

The Central American States as distinct Sovereignties. — Siege of Leon. — In- 
surrections. — Attempts to reconstruct the Republic. — Trinidad Cabanas Presi- 
dent of Honduras. — The War with Guatemala. — Nicaragua as a Republic. — 
The Castellon and Chamorro War. — Enlistment of Americans. — ^Decline of 
the Administration of Cabanas. — Concluding Remarks 494 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Silver Mining in Honduras. — Mineral Districts and Mines of Tegucigalpa. — 
Methods of extracting the Metal. — The Gold Region of Olancho and Yoro.- — 
Gold Mining. — Copper and other Metals. — Opals and Precious Stones ... 522 

CHAPTER XXVni. 

Climate of the Interior. — Of the Coasts. — Diseases, — Public Instruction. — 
Amusements. — Religion. — Aboriginal Remains. — Ancient and present Popu- 
lation. — Government. — Political Divisions 540 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
Commerce. — Exports and Imports. — Commercial Regulations. — Revenue. — 
Seals.— Public Debt 558 

CHAPTER XXX, 

Coins and Currency. — ^Weights and Measures. — The Department of Olancho. — 
The Guayape or Patook River. — Timber Trees. — Cabinet and Dye Woods. — 
Staple Productions. — Wild and cultivated Fruits. — Drugs, Balsams, and me- 
dicinal Plants 5(u 



LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS, 



Map of Eastern Honduras. Page 

The Guayape, below Jutecalpa ' Frontispiece. 

Virgin Bay 31 

Entrance to the Port of Eealejo 62 

Landing at the Port of Eealejo 64 

Procession of Holy Week 85 

Approach to Leon 87 

Calle Eeal, Leon 89 

Cathedral of Leon 95 

The Bridge of Leon 99 

The Great Plain of Leon 103 

El Puerto de Zempisque 109 

View on the Estero Eeal 113 

Bongo Navigation 123 

The Juacamalla 136 

The Iguana. . .' 149 

Sierra Traveling 167 

City of Tegucigalpa 180 

La Paroqiiia 187 

Bridge of Tegucigalpa ; . 191 

Trogons Eesplendens 196 

View near Eio Abajo 240 

Limestone Hill 243 

Tusterique Hill 244 

San Diego de Talanga 246 

Travelers Nooning 249 

In the Mountain Storm 252 

Village of Campamento 260 

Platinal in the Campamento Mountains 264 

Hacienda of La Lima '. 270 

Hacienda of Lepaguare 271 

Murcielago Bar 280 

First Eocker in Honduras 287 

Cattle Hacienda 296 

Guayape Eiver, near Galeras 297 

Jutecalpa from the Southwest 311 

Calle de Concepcion, Jutecalpa 333 

Primitive Crushing-mill 342 

Breaking Ore 343 



xxiv I^IST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTKATIONS. 

Page 

Pipantes Log Shooting 353 

Spanish Dance 357 

The Armadillo 358 

Lake of Quebracha 360 

The Agouti 362 

Bird Music 370 

Olancho Viejo 381 

Skeleton Cattle on the Guayape 387 

Plowing 388 

Indian Laborers 393 

Indian Town of Catacamas 395 

The Scorpion 405 

El Espumoso : 411 

Chilpate Fishing 418 

Cone of Comayagua 428 

Campana, or Caving in 434 

Taladi-o and Tanatero 438 

Entrance to a Mine 439 

Map of Central America 448 

Great Seal of Honduras . .' 466 

Francisco Morazan 473 

Santos Guardiola 516 

Jose Trinidad Cabanas 502 

Coins of Central America ■ 568 



7! 



WAT m EmTWsm liDMlnJlM: 

showing the 



oj- 

AND 

BY WILLIAM VTfEUS . 

1857. 



16. 




EIPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Objects of the Journey to Olancho. — Departure from California. — San Juan del 
Sur. — New York Passengers. — The Eoad to Virgin Bay. — Scenery. — Climate. 
— Ometepe. — Storm on Lake Nicaragua. — New Acquaintances. — The War. — 
Departure for Rivas. — Lake Nicaragua. — Eio Lejas. — Crossing a Quick-sand. 
— Niffht in the Woods. — A tropical Thunder-storm. — Rivas. — A moonlight 
Ramble. — " Quien vive ?" 

Eaelt in 1854, I left San Francisco, California, to visit Cen-> 
tral America, for the purpose of obtaining certain mining and 
commercial privileges from the government of Honduras. The 
enterprise, originating with a New York merchant, had passed 
from hand to hand, until the papers and documents connected 
with it had found their way to California, where the broad lib- 
erality and eager spirit of adventure at that date seemed to 
offer a more genial soil for the inception of such projects. 

The time was considered as peculiarly favorable for success- 
ful negotiation with the people of Central America, and espe- 
cially with those of Honduras, the government of which state 
had dispatched one of its most eminent citizens to the United 
States with the view of opening the country to American im- 
migration, a course then thought likely to advance its social 
and commercial interests. 

I was fortunate in obtaining letters of introduction from sev- 
eral Central Americans to some of the leading citizens of Hon- 
duras, as well as a package of similar papers from the Hon. 
Henry S. Foote, Hon. Ogden Hoffman, Jr., Governor Bigler, 
of California, and several other national and state officers, which 
enabled me to look forward with pleasure and confidence to my 
journey. 

With these, and the imperfect information I could obtain from 
the few books relating to Central America at that time access- 



26 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

ible in California, I embarked in the steamer Cortez, and, bid- 
ding adieu to the little knot of friends on the wharf, the ex- 
pression of whose sincere wishes for my success was long im- 
pressed with pleasure on my memory, we glided out of the noble 
harbor, and were soon plowing the blue waters of the Pacific. 
With occasional glimpses of the coast, now gliding by the 
shadowy outlines of inland mountains, or skirting the grassy 
headlands of Mexico and Guatemala, we entered, on the thir- 
teenth day, the little harbor of San Juan del Sur, our first expe- 
rience of Central American peculiarities of climate being a tem- 
pestuous rain-squall, a significant foretaste of what might be 
expected for the future. 

Thanks to the attention of our courteous commander, our two 
weeks of steam-boat life had been little else than a pleasure- 
trip, the too speedy conclusion of which we rather regarded with 
regret. From our position on the quarter-deck we could ob- 
serve the general appearance of the town, and the tropical scen- 
ery of eternal green beyond. The foreign appearance of the 
picture was somewhat marred by the familiar architecture of the 
principal houses, and the very un-Spanish oaths and activity at- 
tending the bustle of debarkation. 

A swarm of dusky natives in bongos mingled their broken 
English with the gruff and business-like tones of the habitual 
New York boatman, in the noisy competition for "fares." We 
waited for the rush to subside, and then quietly seating our- 
selves, with Captain Cropper, in the steamer's boat, pulled for 
the shore, along which a white crest of foam sparkled and 
dashed with a gentle murmur peculiarly soothing after the mo- 
notonous rattle of the engine, and the endless variety of noises 
marking the passage of a steam-ship filled with Americans. 

The rainy season was now at its height, and in four hours 
we had as many squalls, attended with thunder and lightning. 
Under these circumstances, prepared as I was for every novelty 
in scenery and character, I cared little about making accurate 
notes of a place which every California traveler has passed 
through, and whose novel events have been for years the theme 
of newspaper comment. 

We landed astride the backs of negroes, and our first saluta- 
tion on reaching the shores of Central America was from a bare- 



SAN JUAN DEL SUE. 27 

legged, half-naked negro soldier, whose dingy exterior could te 
only paralleled in ludicrous effect by the rusty English musket 
with which he strutted along the line of surf. My first care 
was to seek a lodging-house, and the Pacific Hotel appearing 
the most promising, we wended our way thither, our baggage 
following us on the backs of three or four natives, who de- 
manded a real each for their services. 

By 10 A.M. the passengers, numbering some six hundred, 
had mounted, and were en route, over the company's road, for 
Virgin Bay ; and, standing in the balcony of our hotel, we waved 
adieus to the many acquaintances we had made on board, until, 
the last disappearing, we had our trunks carried up and were 
soon duly installed in our quarters. Habit, in years past, 
among the South Americans, had acquainted me with the use 
of the hammock, so that it seemed no strange tiling to drop 
into one of these swinging comforts, and, with the help of an 
excellent cigar (a remnant of San Francisco), to dream away an 
hour, lulled by the soothing rustle of the surf, and drowsily spec- 
ulating upon the duties of the expedition. 

Our host, Mr. Priest, soon made our acquaintance, and, learn- 
ing our destination, advised us by no means to attempt reaching 
the northern part of the state by land, while the lake, being in- 
fested with the cruisers of the Chamorro party, was a dangerous 
passage for foreigners, especially Americans, many of whom, 
having joined the Liberal or Castellon party, were henceforth the 
special objects of the enemy's vengeance : it was even asserted 
that Chamorro had issued orders to his subordinates to give no 
quarter to Americans in or out of the service of the opposite 
cause. The country from San Juan to Masaya was in the 
hands of the Castellon party, but, beyond that point, we should 
come into the vicinity of Granada, the stronghold of Chamorro. 
Mr. Priest advised us to await the arrival of a coasting schoon- 
er daily expected from Punta Arenas, and bound to Realejo. 

While we were conversing with our loquacious host, we were 
joined by two gentlemen, evidently foreigners, who, as we after- 
ward learned, were sons of Don Carlos Dardano, of Amapala, 
Tigre Island, to whom I had letters of introduction. These 
young men had been waiting alternately at San Juan and Vir- 
gin Bay for several weeks, in company with Mr. Henry Matsell, 



28 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

lately appointed consul to La Union in San Salvador. Mr. 
Matsell was unwilling to venture with his family through the 
country or Iby the lake, and now, driven to desperation, was ne- 
gotiating for the repair of a decayed long-hoat turned bottom up 
upon the beach, in which to embark with his household gods for 
Realejo, where he was assured of hospitable entertainment and 
a reasonable amount of comforts. 

The lady who at this moment joined us, in company with a 
dark-eyed little girl, seemed already wearied with her few weeks 
of Mcaraguan life. She complained of languor and debility, 
the effects of which are sure to mark themselves upon the 
female visitor who remains under the enervating influence of 
the tropical sun. 

After a long consultation, in which the Dardanos urged us to 
remain with them, still persisting in their refusal of the land- 
route, while our party as steadily rejected the dubious chances 
of the shattered long-boat, we succeeded in securing the serv- 
ices of a number of mules, whose owners were found playing 
monte in the Calle de, Pineda, and agreed with them to trans- 
port us and our baggage to Rivas at the rate of four dollars per 
mule, the train to start early on the following morning. 

There had been a regular succession of rain squalls during 
our two days' stay here, the thermometer at noon standing at 
90° in the shade, and the squalls succeeded by bursts of fierce 
sunlight, striking down among the dank foliage skirting the 
town in the background. Early next morning, fortified with a 
hearty breakfast, we began, with the anxiety of true novices in 
the science of Central American dilatoriness, to look about for 
our arieros, or muleteers. Dixon (an American in the com- 
pany's office, to whom I was indebted for many useful hints) 
laughingly advised us to learn and adopt, as speedily as possi- 
ble, the universal Spanish adage, j)OCO a poco — literally, take it 
easy, for we would soon discover the fallacy of attempting to 
hurry a native. 

At 10 o'clock, a cloud of dust, and a series of indescribable 
hoots and shouts, never heard out of American society, pro- 
claimed the arrival of the New York passengers, who, to the 
number of several hundred, speedily took possession of the little 
town. Amid the uproar, and just as we had recognized a num- 



THE TRANSIT ROUTE. 29 

Lcr of old Californians on their return to the land of gold, our 
mules arrived, and without waiting to admonish the ariero to 
future punctuality, we turned our faces toward Virgin Bay, a 
drenching shower of rain saluting us when little more than a 
mile on the road. This we knew we must become used to in 
the succeeding eight months ; so, wrapping our ponchos about 
us, we pressed cheerily onward, looking forward with eager hope 
to our arrival at Rivas. 

It was with pride as Americans that we viewed the fine Mac- 
adamized road, extending a distance of thirteen miles through 
a dense jungle, the wild aspect of the surrounding country con- 
trasting curiously with the evidences of civilization and the 
results of active industry displayed in the bridges and excava- 
tions along the route. The work was one of many examples 
beyond the limits of the United States, where the genius and 
enterprise of our countrymen are overcoming the terrors of trop- 
ical climates, and opening to the world the vast undeveloped 
Helds of enterprise presented through the Central American 
Isthmus. 

To us, who had for years beheld at San Francisco the semi- 
monthly arrival of hundreds of passengers passing with safety 
through these regions, there seemed scarcely any thing foreign 
in the scene. But the profuse vegetation bounding the view on 
every side, the flights of painted macaws and noisy parrots 
passing at intervals overhead, the impressive stillness of the 
forest, added to the undefined and interesting country through 
which our journey must carry us before the distant goal could 
be reached, produced a glad exhilaration of spirits, a joyous 
sense of freedom, with a prospective dash of wild adventure 
only known to those who, from necessity or choice, have left 
behind them the restraints and conventionalities of society. 

Most American readers have been accustomed from childhood 
to associate romantic and often extravagant ideas with those 
mysterious countries whose dusky tribes, birds of brilliant 
plumage, strange animals, and precious products were brought 
to light by the explorations of the Spanish adventurers of the 
sixteenth century. The limited means of information, often 
confined to the exaggerated chronicles of the early conquerors, 
or the fabulous tales of the padres accompanying them ; the 



30 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

unimportant commerce hitherto existing between^ the Central 
American States and the maritime nations, of the world ; the 
difficulty of communication until the gold placers of California 
awakened those dozing solitudes into life as a means of transit 
to the Pacific; their retired position, apparently ou't of the great 
routes of the world's commerce — these and other evident causes 
have, until within the last few years, not only prevented the 
country from becoming more intimately known, but seemed to 
oifer few, if any inducements to the merchant or the traveler. 

The mahogany vessel returning from the pestiferous lowlands 
of the Spanish Main, her crew often pallid with disease, and 
bearing appalling accounts of the climate they had left, were 
enough to influence the mind of even the hardiest adventurer, 
while the fate of the few attempts to colonize with European 
settlers seemed to point out the coast as a Golgotha for all for- 
eigners venturesome enough to make it even a temporary place 
of residence. Of the interior, little or nothing was known ex- 
cept that it was a "tropical climate" — quite sufficient to make 
the trader reflect long and earnestly before visiting its shores, 
and the mariner to turn with a shudder from the proposed voy- 
age. The advance of civilization is fast placing Central Amer- 
ica in glowing prominence before the world. Old and fabulous 
ideas respecting its people and climate are giving way before 
the research of the nervous Anglo-Saxon race. Tales of its 
poisonous miasma; its inviting exterior, concealing savage beasts 
of prey and venomous reptiles ; its dark jungles, the birth-place 
of malaria, and its luxuriant foliage, exhaling the vapors of dis- 
ease and death — these have passed away as idle dreams, and no 
longer deter the march of the adventurer. The natural re- 
sources of the country, equaling in variety and excelling in 
quantity those of the coveted Cuba-, added to its proximity to 
the United States, can not but eventually bring it into closer 
intimacy with the spirit of commercial enterprise characterizing 
the day. 

Our ariero was a Jamaican, whose occupation was to furnish 
mules to the Transit Company at a stipulated price per head. 
He was said to be the owner of above a hundred animals, em- 
ploying a large number of natives, and I was assured by a ne- 
gro who walked beside my mule that it was no small honor to 
be attended in person by the "patron." 



VIRGIN BAY. 



31 





VTEGIN BAT. 



About half way over the road we came to an elevated place, 
from which, the forest opening to the eastward, we obtained a 
glimpse of the volcano of Ometepe, situated on the island of that 
name, to the eastward of Virgin Bay. The atmosphere being 
perfectly clear, and the rays of a noonday sun striking upon its 
side, produced the remarkable indigo hue described in several 
Central American works as marking the distant mountain 
scenery of the country. This was my first glimpse of the 
great volcanic chain extending through Nicaragua, and it was 
only then that I began to realize the fact that I was amid the 
scenery and florid verdure of the tropics — in a land whose his- 
tory, extending back to the discovery of the continent, was rife 
■vvith interest and romance. 

Shortly after noon we came out at the little town known as 
Virgin Bay, and cantering down its one wide and well-graded 
thoroughfare we pulled up at the house of Judge Gushing, at 
this time the acting agent of the Transit Company. We were 
Idndly invited to dismount ; and when, upon entering the cool 
and stately room of the agent, I was introduced to an old and 
valued acquaintance (late charge to Ecuador), I felt well repaid 
for the melting journey from San Juan del Sur. From the 



32 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

window, opening upon the lake, we obtained a fine view of this 
noble expanse of water. A gentle breeze entei'ed the room, cool 
from the waves beyond. Far to the southeast, the diurnal chu- 
basco, or afternoon squall of the rainy season, was making up, 
the sombre shadows cast by the castellated clouds creeping grad- 
ually up until the entire southern horizon was shaded in gloom, 
and the lofty peaks of Ometepe and Madiera were enveloped in 
impenetrable clouds. Vivid flashes of lightning and loud thun- 
der soon announced the nearer approach of the storm, and in 
another minute the view was entirely shut out by a sheet of 
falling water, which, passing on to the town, steamed off the 
heated tiles with curious effect. Judge Gushing assured us 
that this was by no means equal to the usual severe thunder- 
storms of this season. It was of short duration, however, and 
the sky clearing up about 2 o'clock, we prepared to continue 
our journey toward Rivas, a distance of some ten miles. 

While in San Juan, Mr. Pardee, U. S. Consul at that place, 
learning that I intended to stop at Leon, had given me ofiicial 
letters to Castellon, there then being no safe means of commu- 
nication with the northern part of the state. Both parties 
claiming to be the legitimate rulers of the land, he had not de- 
cided which to recognize, but finally judged it safe, for the 
present, to admit the rights of those actually in possession. 
His letters were consequently addressed to the Provisional 
Director, acknowledging his authority, and requesting his exe- 
quatur. Judge Gushing also felt disposed to admit the Gas- 
tellon cause ; but, both parties claiming the moneys due from 
the Transit Gompany to the state, he had, with true diplomacy, 
refused payment to either, until the tide of events should set 
permanently in favor of one or the other party. 

We left Rivas, the mercury at 90° in the shade, and were 
strenuously advised by a new acquaintance, a Dr. Davis, claim- 
ing to be surgeon-general of the democratic army, not to start. 
Not having, however, acquired, as yet, t\iQ j)oco a poco style of 
the country, we disregarded the advice and pushed on ; in half 
an hour we were joined by the doctor, a stout, jovial fellow, 
who, preferring company on his route, came cantering along on 
a raw-boned horse rejoicing in the sobriquet of " Ghmgo." 

The doctor was a native of Ohio, and had lived in Nicaragua 



LAKE NICARAGUA. 33 

for three years, where he had seen every species of adventure, 
at one time working a silver mine, at another residing as phy- 
sician in Granada or Masaya ; now fighting in the revolutions 
of the country, and now acting as mate on board some of the 
lake steamers. He ascribed his present exalted station to the 
influence of an officer whom he had frightened into good-humor 
during a quarrel a few weeks since. The doctor was strongly 
compromised on the Castellon side, had taken an active part in 
the battles of the preceding May, and was now bound to the 
" Jalteva," on the outskirts of Granada, where Chamorro was 
closely besieged by about twelve hundred Leoneses under the 
command of General Jerez. He had been to Virgin Bay to 
bear dispatches and obtain medicines, and was now returning 
to take part in the siege. He also stated that in Kivas he had 
half a dozen companions, Americans, who would accompany us 
toward Granada. 

Though pleased with the company of my new acquaintance, 
I was not sure of the propriety of traveling with his party, as 
they anticipated being at least taken prisoners on the route and 
carried into Granada, where the fact of accompanying them 
would insure my confinement for an indefinite time. However, 
the journey must be made, and, resolving to trust to the chances, 
we pushed on. 

Our road from Virgin Bay toward Rivas lay along the banks 
of the lake about four miles, and the rest of the way through a 
well-cultivated country, composed of several large and many 
small cacao and other plantations. On our left stretched an 
apparently impenetrable growth of ceiba, guanacaste, and other 
trees, whose dim and silent leafy glades, as we rode past them, 
appeared to be as strange and solitary as when the old Spanish 
conquerors first trod this prolific soil. To the right lay the 
great lake, its extent forcing itself upon our senses by the hori- 
zon presented eastward, and against the dreamy sky, a schoon- 
er, hull down, beating up toward Granada. This was the only 
sign of commerce. The recent squall had set the waters in 
commotion, and the heavy surf rolled along the beach, frequently 
wetting the feet of our mules, and at times dashing boldly 
against some headland, to double which we were often obliged 
to enter the lake and urge our animals nearly up to the saddle- 

c 



34 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

girth. Far beyond, and looming up in the clear sky, the vol- 
cano of Zapatero (the shoemaker) reared its head, while to the 
right, and apparently springing out of the lake, stood Ometepe 
and Madiera, the island on which they are situated sunk below 
the horizon. These volcanoes are the unfailing landmarks 
throughout the state. 

There are various legends connected with Ometepe, which is 
estimated to be six thousand feet in height, though I am not 
aware that any measurement has ever been made of its altitude. 
There are several old Indian families on the island, who earn an 
easy living by raising vegetables, which they dispose of at Vir- 
gin Bay, making daily trips across in bongos. I was inform- 
ed by Mr. Geer, a gentleman residing several years at Virgin 
Bay and San Juan del Sur, that no one is known to have made 
the ascent to its peak. He, in company with two adventurous 
friends, attempted it three years since, and, starting from the 
base at five o'clock in the morning, arrived within a few hund- 
red feet of the summit about ten hours afterward. Here, how- 
ever, they encountered a steep ascent of cinders, up which they 
vainly endeavored to scramble until, exhausted with their efforts, 
and sliding back at every moment, they were glad to desist and 
commence the descent the same afternoon. An old Indian, who 
claims to have reached the summit many years since, states that 
there is a lake of water situated in what he describes as an ex- 
tinct crater. Mr. Geer endeavored to ascertain this fact, which 
the old natives stoutly adhere to, and is inclined to believe it 
from having observed above him, against the side of a high per- 
pendicular cliff, the peculiar shadows produced by the reflection 
of waves in the sunlight against a wall. There is also a con- 
siderable stream issuing from the side of the mountain a few 
hundred feet above the surface of the lake, which could hardly 
be accounted for in any other manner than by supposing a lake 
above. The constant clouds around the peak would seem to 
supply such a body of water. Future investigation, however, 
will doubtless solve the problem. 

The sliores of Lake Nicaragua differ little from those of the 
ocean, and a stranger, to view the swells setting in here during 
a heavy blow, might easily suppose himself on the sea-beach. 

As I paused on a small cape or promontory jutting into the 



RIVER LEJAS. 35 

lake, and noted the splendid expanse of water before me — a ho- 
rizon of waves, navigable for large vessels in nearly every part, 
surrounded by land, teeming with spontaneous vegetation, and 
justly denominated " the garden of the world" — I could not re- 
press a feeling of deep regret that a spot upon which Nature 
seemed to have lavished her choicest gifts should be but a the- 
atre for bloodthirsty revolutions and fruitless wars ; agriculture 
and commerce existing but in name, and its history a reproach 
to the possessors of the soil. Surely a country so happily lo- 
cated, lying midway between the five continents, must ere long 
become the scene of industry, either under the guidance of its 
native inhabitants or in the hands of strangers. 

Along our route we found flocks of aquatic birds, some of 
them of the heron species. We passed within a few yards of 
them before they arose, with shrill screams, alighting a short 
distance beyond. Evidently they were rarely molested or shot. 
A variety of excellent fish may be taken in the lake, but during 
our stay in its vicinity none were offered for sale. It was plain 
the inhabitants are too indolent to avail themselves of this lux- 
ury. Large tihurones (sharks) have been captured in the lake ; 
and a few months previous, a woman at Virgin Bay, washing 
on the banks, was seized and killed by an alligator. 

A tall, rocky blufi" impeding our further progress by the beach, 
we followed a narrow path to the left abruptly into the forest, 
and, after plunging about for some time in a black mire, into 
which our mules sank nearly to the knees at every step, we 
emerged again upon the lake at the mouth of a small stream 
about fifty yards wide, and known as the River Lejas. This 
stream, dry during the summer months, was now of formidable 
depth, and, as our men informed us, the resort of alligators, who 
ensconce themselves here among the reeds and bushes as a re- 
treat from the high winds. 

A canoe, hollowed out of a ceiba-tree, lay moored at the bank. 
Two half-naked ferrymen were cooking beef at a fire near the 
hut of branches and reeds which served them for a residence. 
Nasario commenced unsaddling our mules, and placed the trap- 
pings in the canoe, while Chico, the doctor's servant, a sprightly 
little fellow from Costa Eica, attended to his master's baggage. 
As we were preparing to embark, our attention was called to 



36 EXPLOEATIONS EST HONl)URAS. 

three or four large black objects a few hundred yards up the 
river, which our men told us were alligators. Little relishing 
the clumsy, teetering affair in which we were about to enter, I 
weighed the chances of a bath in the sullen waters and the pos- 
sibility of yielding one or both of my legs to the monsters around 
us, who were evidently intent on our movements. 

The mules, after some beating and coaxing, were driven into 
the stream, and, sinking to their noses, they struck boldly across, 
Nasario yelling loudly at them, and, in answer to my inquiries, 
remarking that there was nothing to fear from " los lagartos" 
while there was so much noise on the banks. We followed the 
mules, and, saddling up, paid the ferryman a dollar each, and 
continued our journey, but not until I had shot an armadillo, 
which showed itself just as we were mounting. These animals 
I afterward found to be very common, though at the time I was 
desirous of preserving the shell or incrusted covering. 

The night had now set in, and in half an hour we came to 
another small stream, into which the doctor fearlessly urged his 
horse, with the remark that he had often crossed it at higher 
stages of tide than now ; but he had not calculated for the di- 
rection of the winds during the last week, and when within a 
yard of the opposite shore he suddenly disappeared in a quick- 
sand. It was with the greatest difficulty that we saved him 
and horse from drowning. After wringing out his clothes and 
taking an extra pull at a bottle of aguardiente, which he never 
failed to have in his maleta, he remounted with great good-hu- 
mor, and, piloting us some distance, crossed the stream higher 
up. Striking a mule-traU, half path and half slough, we plunged 
into the forest, the way so completely walled on each side with 
shrubbery as to shut out even the dim light of the stars, and 
prevent our distinguishing any object a yard in advance. 

Onward dashed the doctor, however, halting at intervals to 
allow us to overtake him, shouting at the top of his voice to in- 
dicate the direction, and usually passing around the bottle to the 
equestrian group before resuming the march. He affirmed that 
a moderate use of the aguardiente del pais, when undergoing 
excitement, exposure, or fatigue, had enabled him to experience 
the greatest trials without sickness. After my arrival in Leon I 
was assured of the same by two foreign physicians. The bev- 



THUNDER-STORM IN THE WOODS. 37 

erage, whatever may be its beneficial properties, is one of the 
most repulsive of drinks ; and months afterward, when I had be- 
come used to the customs of the country, I could never taste it 
without a sensation of disgust. 

The premonitory muttering of thunder, which for the last 
hour had been heard ia the distance, now became nearer, and 
the ominous pattering of large drops among the jungle soon 
changed into a steady downpour, accompanied with crashing 
thunder, and lightning so vivid as to illuminate the woods in all 
directions, bringing into view with painful distinctness every 
twig and leaf, to be again succeeded by inky darkness. The 
hoUows of the muddy road became formidable pools, through 
which, and over the irregularities of the path, we pushed stead- 
ily along, our late romantic enthusiasm having changed into a 
musing silence, occasionally interrupted by the shout of some 
one of the party lost in the darkness. From time to time 
through the heated night-air the cries of frogs, tree-toads, and 
night-birds came up shrill and monotonous from the surround- 
ing fens, while the occasional snorting of our mules, as they 
stumbled along, nose to the ground, through the miry path, seem- 
ed a relief to the solitary wildness of the route. 

We had reached within a mile of Bivas when the moon 
arose, making our path somewhat plainer ; and soon the furious 
barking of a pack of dogs assured us that we were entering the 
precincts of the town. 

Thatched and tiled houses became more frequent, and the 
noise of the dogs brought loTingingly to his door the swarthy 
villager, who, scanning us fr-om under his hand as we splashed 
by, either replied briefly to our salutation, or watched us in si- 
lence tni we disappeared in the darkness. Turning a sharp an- 
gle formed by a row of low, whitewashed adobe houses, we trav- 
ersed a roughly-paved but dilapidated street, silent as the grave, 
clattering through which we came out upon the grand Plaza 
of Rivas, seen by the dim rays of the mOon, with its partly- 
built church and regular private dwellings, presenting a much 
more impressive spectacle than we had been prepared to meet, 
and awakening agreeable anticipations for the morrow. 

"We followed the doctor to the door of the most important 
house on the Plaza, whence issued a gentleman who addressed 



38 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

US in English, and was introduced as Dr. Cole. With charac- 
teristic hospitality we were invited to alight, hammocks and 
beds were prepared for our party, a boy sent out to meet our 
lagging arieros with the baggage-mules, and in another half 
hour a supper of hot coffee, eggs, and ^x^n dulce was prepared 
for us by the hands of the senora herself, whom our host inform- 
ed us he had lately married from one of the first families of the 
department. 

While the supper was cooking we stroUed up the nearest 
street, now brightly illumined by the moon, and, passing the 
ruins of the church of San Felipe, destroyed some years since 
by an earthquake, came to a log and mud fort with one em- 
brasure, out of which looked the muzzle of a small cannon (about 
a six-pounder), while a loud and startling challenge, " Quien 
vive V brought us to the consciousness that we were in a garri- 
soned town. ' ' La Patria /" we replied. ' ' Que gente V " Nic- 
aragua /" But, though now permitted to continue our stroll, 
we were too tired to satisfy our curiosity, and retraced our steps. 
After the welcome repast, lighting the dgarro proffered to us by 
the senora, we entered into conversation with our host, an intel- 
ligent and well-educated gentleman, whose life, passed among 
the southern cities, had been an unceasing round of excitement : 
Texas, Mexico, California, China, and Central America had each 
been the respective theatre of his numerous adventures. He had 
finally settled in Nicaragua, drawn thither, he said, by the flat- 
tering accounts of the country. Here he had married the daugh- 
ter of a large cacao planter, and, being a physician by profession, 
had already acquired the confidence and good-will of the people. 
I asked him how he had succeeded in overcoming the religious 
scruples of the lady, having heard that none but Catholics were 
permitted by the rules of the Church to marry into the native fam- 
ilies. He replied that, although this was generally believed to 
be the case, such objections were rarely, if ever, urged where the 
affections of the lady or the interest of the parents were engaged. 

The night was far advanced when, availing ourselves of the 
kindly hospitalities of our host, we retired to rest, and slept 
soundly, despite the bleating of a young goat, and the nipping 
of myriads of those indispensable household articles, "pulgas." 



KIVAS. 39 



CHAPTER II. 

Rivas. — rEvidence of an older City. — Department Meridional. — ^Agriculture. — 
Country Houses. — Productions. — Dwelling-houses. — Hacienda of Santa Ursu- 
la. — Cacao Planting. — Scenery. — Boa Constrictor. — An Alarm. — Jose Ber- 
mudas. — Women. — Piety. — Bust of Washington. — Earthquakes. — Difficulties 
of Departure. — The Start. — Obraje. — Oracion. — Tropical Scenery. — Las Can- 
delleras. — Eight of Search. — The Camp. — Shooting Deer. — Valley of Nau- 
dyme. — Ochomogo. — Startling News. — The Retreat. — Hacienda de San Fran- 
cisco. — Las Tortilleras. — A Night's March. — Rivas again. 

It is supposed that Rivas stands upon the site of a much old- 
er city, there being traces of ancient streets running in an oppo- 
site direction to the present ones. The Department Meridional, 
of which it is the capital, having from time immemorial been 
subject to more severe earthquakes than occur in the northern 
portions of the state, it is believed that the ruins are those of a 
city destroyed a century since. No reliable account, however, 
exists of the circumstance. 

The town stands in the centre of an extensive plain over- 
grown with rank vegetation and interspersed with cacao, coffee, 
sugar, and indigo plantations, which are reckoned among the 
most valuable in the state. It is situated about three/ miles 
from the lake, and is surrounded by several small towns, prop- 
erly outskirts of Rivas, but each designated by its particular 
name. The town, with its environs, is doubtless the third in 
population in Nicaragua, though the foliage intersecting the nu- 
merous small haciendas and the garden space allotted to each 
residence hides its true proportions. Toward the lake, and serv- 
ing as an embarcadero for the town, is the village of San Jorge, 
which is usually estimated as a portion of Rivas. 

The inhabitants of the Department Meridional are mostly 
mestizos, or the mixed races of Indian and negro. At the time 
of my visit, nearly all of the men had fled to the more secluded 
parts of the country to avoid impressment into the army, there 
being no respect shown where the government stood in need 
of soldiers. This left the estates, especially those devoted to 



40 ' EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

the culture of cacao, entirely deserted of labor, and in many in- 
stances the result of years of patient toil had been lost by the 
summary seizure of the workmen of the plantation. With such 
high-handed practices, there can be but little encouragement for 
agricultural industry. Indeed, I was credibly informed by Mr. 
Stanisbury, married into one of the Rivas families, that the pro- 
portion of women to men was as four to two at that time, owing 
to the desertion of the pueblos by the male inhabitants. 

Most of the haciendas are approached from the camino real, 
or public highway, by almost hidden paths, leading miles into 
the interior, and which would usually escape the notice of any 
but experienced eyes. They are situated generally in remote 
places, and as far as practicable from the theatre of the frequent 
revolutions devastating the land and always effectually frustra- 
ting for the time the labors of the cultivator. From these re- 
treats the natives repair occasionally to the cities with vegeta- 
bles and fruit, but in times of revolution with the constant fear 
of being entrapped and enlisted. 

The dwellings of the country estates, as well as of the small- 
er towns, are usually rude and lightly-constructed huts of cane, 
thatched with dried palm-leaves, which, when carefully placed, 
are impervious to the rain. Chimneys are dispensed with, the 
door serving as a means of egress for the smoke, or, oftener, the 
cooking being done in the open air, and the family sitting around 
the fire at meal times. At no season of the year is the climate 
of sufficient severity to require more substantial dwellings. In 
the larger towns, however, the houses are of adobe, neatly and 
even handsomely built, and commonly whitewashed over plas- 
tered walls, with regularly-laid tiles for roofs. 

The capabilities of Nicaragua, and especially of the southern 
portion of the state, are yet unknown, and, until the present 
time, there seems to have been but little inducement for the de- 
velopment of her resources. It needs but healthy activity to 
bring the advantages of the state into use, labor to be protected 
and guaranteed by a stable and reliable government. At every 
point there are evidences of Nicaragua having been at no distant 
period a populous and thriving country. Its churches, cities, 
aqueducts, and vats — ^its great plantations, mouldering to decay, 
overgrown with trees and clustering vines, their bounds only in- 



PRODUCTIONS OF THE COUNTRY. 41 

dicated by the imperishable fence of cactus standing as in mock- 
ery of the idleness and misrule which have reduced it to its 
present condition, all point to a day when even the enervating 
influences of the climate had been insufficient to produce the de- 
moralizing effects now witnessed after thirty years of internal 
dissensions. 

The coffee and cacao raised in the vicinity of Rivas stand 
higher in the market than that of any other in the state. But 
little is exported, the greater part being consumed in the coun- 
try, where it is a universal article of food, being drunk thicker 
than chocolate at every meal, and making a pleasant beverage 
called tiste, used by all grades of society. What little is ex- 
ported is often sold at $20 the quintal. The coffee, though not 
bearing the reputation of the Costa Rica brands, is of excellent 
quality, and is a greater article of export than the cacao. Its 
cultivation has hitherto been much neglected, not only from the 
causes above enumerated, but from the difficulties of sending it 
to market, there having been but little communication with the 
outer world until the opening of the Transit Route. Corn, indi- 
go, rice, and tobacco are also cultivated, but in small quantities 
of late, owing to the blighting effects of the wars. Sugar of an 
inferior kind is raised, the cane being indigenous to the country, 
and unlike that of the West Indies and southern United States. 
The rude macliinery used for its manufacture prevents its be- 
coming an important article of export, while but little more than 
what is required for home consumption is produced. The man- 
ufacture of aguardiente is the principal incentive to the culture 
of the cane. The raising of cotton of a superior kind was at 
one time a flourishing branch of industry, but this, like the oth- 
er articles of agriculture, has declined before the breath of the 
universal destroyer. 

An intelligent American merchant, who had resided for sev- 
eral years in various parts of Nicaragua, states that from the 
estimates he has made, comparative with Cuba and other West 
India islands, Nicaragua is capable of producing yearly out of 
what land is now cleared ten millions of bushels of corn, twelve 
thousand ceroons of indigo (the best in the world), untold car- 
goes of sugar, rice, starch, rosewood, dye-woods, medicines, and 
in all respects to effectually rival Cuba itself. Nature has done 



42 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

her part ; it needs but encouragement and enterprise to fulfill 
the most sanguine predictions. 

Rivas proper contains about five thousand inhabitants, and is 
the centre of trafiic for this department. Its streets are regu- 
larly laid out, paved, and of uniform width. The houses are of 
one story, with tiled roofs, heavy cedar doors, and entered from 
beneath an ample porch, also roofed with tiles. The dwelling, 
if of any pretension, includes a hollow square, the^afo'o or arena 
forming the yard, into which the doors from the various rooms 
open, and the same corridor extending around th§ interior. This 
serves as a depository for goods, provisions, the baggage of trav- 
elers, saddles, and all the common articles of household furniture. 
The house is divided into the family parlor or reception-room, / 
called the sala^ and the sleeping-rooms of the family. Furni- 
ture is scantily placed around the room, and usually consists of 
a few heavy, straight-backed chairs, a clothes-press, and one or 
two small tables. 

On the morning after our arrival we were early astir, and hav- 
ing performed our ablutions in an ancient tub in ^% patio, we 
started with our host to view the town. During our stay of a 
week, we made frequent excursions into the country, examining 
the haciendas in the environs, and observing the mode of culti- 
vating the cacao and cane. A cacao estate contains from six 
hundred to five thousand acres of land. That of Santa Ursula, 
about two miles from town, and owned by Senor La Cayos, is 
one of the best cultivated in the vicinity, and has about two 
thousand trees. The hacienda of Seiior Aigueyos is also one 
of the largest and most valuable in the Department. These, as 
well as others in this section of the state, are fast falling to de- 
cay. But three men were living on the estate, and the sad si- 
lence was unbroken save by the gentle rustling of the Tnadieras 
negros and platinos, which, with the cactus, form a hedge pro- 
tecting the young trees until they have gained sufficient strength 
to withstand the fierce rays of the sun. The mayor-domo, or 
overseer, met us at the entrance, politely invited us to walk 
through the grounds, cheerfully answering our questions, and, 
flattered by our admiration, soon became loquacious in describ- 
ing the mode of culture. 

The spot designed for the plantation is first grubbed and 



SANTA URSULA. 43 

cleared, the country being often burned over for the purpose, 
and the ground plowed to a depth of about six inches with 
the rude implement of the country. The young trees are then 
set out in squares about ten feet apart, while the intervening- 
spaces are occupied with plantain and coffee trees to economize 
room. The madiera negra is planted at regular intervals, whose 
leafy boughs effectually protect the vegetation beneath. Yery 
few men are necessary to take care of a plantation no larger 
than that of Santa Ursula, the greater part of the labor being 
required at the time of harvest. The leaves are allowed to re- 
main and rot upon the ground where they fall ; the roots of the 
trees, however, are kept carefully cleaned, and each day the 
children of the mayor-domo or of the laborers pass through the 
plantation, destroying the insects, which, if allowed to remain, 
are fatal to the trees. The soil throughout this estate, as indeed 
is the case in most sections of lower Nicaragua, is a dark, rich 
mould, requiring, in its extreme prolific qualities, the constant use 
of the grub-hoe to prevent the weeds, which grow with rank lux- 
uriance, from overrunning the hacienda. 

From three to four years are required for the young trees to 
commence yielding fruit, after which they are said to produce 
for half a century. There are no estates, however, of that age, 
from which to judge of the correctness of this statement. It 
requires but a few years after the commencement of the hacien- 
da for the whole estate to be firmly and beautifully inclosed 
with a hedge of cactus and plantain, often twenty feet in height, 
and impenetrable as the thickest jungle. 

Nicaragua alone is capable of producing cacao enough to sup- 
ply the North American continent, through the efforts of well- 
directed industry sustained by an enlightened government. The 
trees, as we saw them, had already yielded their fruit, but we 
observed the buds, blossoms, and fruit upon many of them. 

Nothing can exceed the quiet beauty of one of these estates. 
Far as the eye could reach appeared leafy vistas fading in the 
distance, the view bounded by shady masses of verdure. The 
ground was perfectly level, thickly carpeted with dried leaves 
beaten flat to the earth by the rains, through which thousands 
of delicate green sprigs and pretty blossoms were springing and 
loading the air with grateful odors. The bright red berry of 



44 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

the coffee-tree, mingling with the golden hixes of the cacao and 
the clustering fruit of the plantain, orange, and lime, offered an 
agreeable contrast to the deep emerald of the foliage. Over- 
head, amid the leaves of the sheltering ]palo negro, fluttered 
flocks of parrots, hastening with noisy chatter from tree to 
tree, while at intervals the harsh scream of the macaw broke 
through the silence, his brilliant plumage just visible from the 
topmost branch of a distant guanacaste. The only indication 
of human presence was the voice of our cicerone, as he pointed 
out some curious shrub, explaining its properties, or directed 
our attention to the luxuriance of the gaudy tropical flowers. 
Here, indeed, seemed the region of eternal bloom, where, wild 
and unattended, the rarest plants and richest flowers cast abroad 
their fragrance and load the air with sweets. Peaceful Santa 
Ursula ! it will be many years ere thy quiet, sleepy beauty can 
fade from my heart ! 

At the entrance of the estate, we stopped on our return to chat 
with a pretty-faced and rather tidily-dressed girl, the daughter 
of the owner, who invited us into the old adobe house. As we 
entered, half a dozen fierce dogs, aroused by our unusual cos- 
tume, flew out of the corridor, but returned skulking to the steps 
at the rebuke of their mistress. A smiling, simple Indian girl, 
the servant of our lady friend, was leisurely sewing upon some 
fancy article of dress for an approaching fiesta. She raised a 
pair of pretty dark eyes toward us as we approached, but quick- 
ly resumed her work, and to an occasional question I put to her 
only looked at her lady and laughed. Unlike most of the wom- 
en of the lower classes I had seen, she wore shoes and stock- 
ings — articles of luxury to which she was evidently unused, from 
the clumsiness of her walk as she arose to bring us a bunch of 
bananas. Nearly all the women of Rivas wear cheap necklaces, 
rings, and ear-ornaments, purchased of the itinerant traders, who 
have become familiar to all southern Nicaragua since the open- 
ing of the Transit Route. 

Neither the mayor-domo nor the women knew the extent of 
the hacienda, but thought it might be half a league square. No 
admeasurements are taken in Nicaragua, the distances being 
calculated by cahallerias or horseback-rides. 

While talking here, we saw for the first time the oro^endola. 



A DANGEROUS VISITOR. 45 

a beautiful bird about the size of the robin, with black and red 
body, and yellow wings and tail ; he is a fine singer, and is fre- 
quently caught and caged on that account. Here we took our 
first drink of tiste, a beverage composed of pounded cacao, sugar, 
and panola, or pounded parched com. It is made very sweet, 
nearly of the consistency of gruel, which it somewhat resembles, 
and is really a delicious drink. 

Swinging lazily in the hammock profiered us by the senorita, 
and listening to her story of the Revolution and its blighting ef- 
fects upon the industry of the country, an hour passed pleasant- 
ly away. The gentle sea-breeze stirred the leafy branches, and 
passed gratefully through the wide corridor. '■^ Son ruinados 
todas las fiestas del jpais /" said our little hostess, as she glanced 
mechanically into a looking-glass hanging near by, and specu- 
lated upon former days, when every other week was a feast-day, 
in which all the charms of bright eyes and red lips might be 
brought into play in the light bolero or vaeixj fandango. Tru- 
ly the happy days of Nicaragua seemed gone, and the country, 
once a dreamy paradise of pleasure and lazy enjoyment, given 
up to the hand of the destroyer. 

After bidding adieu to our new acquaintance we turned to- 
ward the town, and were passing the entrance to a small, half- 
ruined hacienda, when the old duena beckoned us to ride inside. 
We observed a group gathered around some object upon the 
ground, which we soon discovered to be a boa, just killed in the 
act of swallowing a guatusa, a little ground animal between the 
hedgehog and squirrel, and whose cries had attracted the crowd 
to the spot. The creature had its victim half swallowed when 
killed, the head of the little animal protruding from its mouth. 

One of the women said it was fortunate to have killed the ser- 
pent, for it would one day have destroyed some of her children. 
I asked her if such a circumstance had ever occurred, to which 
the whole group screamed in the affirmative, and interrupted 
each other in the garrulous recounting of instances where, in the 
more retired haciendas, babes had been seized and killed by boas. 
The story, however, needs confirmation from a more reliable 
source. This snake measured fourteen feet in length, and near- 
ly a foot in circumference at the largest part. They are said to 
attain a much larger size. 



46 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

On our return to Rivas we found the little cuartel in a state 
of intense excitement. A courier had arrived with the alarming 
intelligence that the Chamorro troops, two hundred strong, were 
near the outskirts of the town, and preparing for attack. The 
little drum of the garrison was heating valorouslj to arms, and 
a general burnishing up of muskets going on. This proved to 
be a false alarm, and quiet was soon restored ; but we had op- 
portunity to observe the amount of confidence our American 
resident friends placed in the means of defense or the faith of 
the enemy. Dr. Cole already had his trunks packed, mules 
saddled, and his family prepared for instant flight toward San 
Juan del Sur, should the opposite party make their appearance. 
Several executions had taken place recently, in which the pris- 
oners, being made to kneel down in the Plaza, were summarily 
shot through the heart. It was not a time to trust to the mer- 
cy of men made frantic by opposition and defeat, and thirsting 
for the blood of all Americans. 

In the midst of the turmoil created by the cry of '■'•el ene- 
migo P a single horseman dashed into the city, mounted on a 
spirited charger, with all the jingling accoutrements so coveted 
by the Spanish cahallero. He spurred up to where we stood 
admiring his equestrianism, reining in his steed so as to throw 
a shower of sand and dust at our feet, and evidently cha- 
grined that we remained unstartled by the dangerous proximity 
of his horse's heels. This was the celebrated Jose Bermudas, 
afterward killed in one of the bloody battles of the Revolution, 
and known as the boldest rider and fiercest fighting man in the 
Depa;rtment. Large, expressive black eyes, coarse, long hair, a 
lithe form, and devil-may-care look and style of dress, set oif his 
really graceful riding to great advantage. 

He had now returned from an observation tour on his own ac- 
count, and dismounted from his reeking horse just as the sky 
became overcast, and a sudden thunder-storm burst over the 
city. The streets were running streams in a short time, and 
the whole town, save a solitary donkey feeding on the Plaza, 
fled for shelter. Bermudas affected to despise the petty fight- 
ing of his countrymen, and often referred with awe to " la& 
grandes battalias de Mejico''' as the ne plus xdtra of warlike 
annals. The thermometer, during our stay at Rivas, stood 



WOMEN OF RIVAS. 47 

nearly as follows : at 6 A.M., 82° ; at 12 M., 98° ; at 6 P.M., 
88°. The temperature seemed very little altered by the rains 
in the afternoon. A very fine view of a portion of Lake Nic- 
aragua and Ometepe is obtained from the church towers of 
Rivas. 

The market-place is the northern and western sides of the 
grand Plaza. Here are displayed for sale the numerous fruits 
of the country, with Chili peppers, articles of light clothing, 
medicines, and trinkets. The goods, placed in large, flat bas- 
kets on the pavement, were presided over by women, who gazed 
curiously at us as we passed among their wares. Supposing 
that, as foreigners, we could not speak the language, they ven- 
tured various remarks concerning our personal appearance and 
dress. Mariano, however, answered a very fat old woman, who 
laughed at his narrow-brimmed straw hat, when the whole group 
broke into the most uproarious mirth, shouting, ^^JEs hijo del 
^ais — habla Men el Esjpanol .^" and immediately commenced a 
conversation with us, in which they inquired the object of our 
journey, and advised us by no means to continue our route 
through the country. The Chamorro troops had possession of 
the road to Masaya, and no mercy would be shown to Ameri- 
cans. I have always found the women of the lower classes in 
Central America simple, kind-hearted, and hospitable, generally 
performing the most laborious part of the work, and never tiring 
under their ceaseless tasks. They are truly the hewers of wood 
and drawers of water. They listen with unaffected wonder to 
the accounts of North America and Europe given them by stran- 
gers, and are generally ready to extend such hospitality as their 
means admit. 

The half-constructed church, "Za Paroquia,''^ forming the 
eastern side of the Plaza, has been brought to its present state 
of completion by the pious contributions of the women, who are 
always ready to respond with their limited means to the never- 
failing demands of the priesthood. The church has been four- 
teen years in process of construction, and at this time resembles 
the ruin of some ancient building. Trees of ten years' growth 
stand upon the walls, and are displacing the masonry, while the 
roofless interior presents an impassable mass of weeds and bri- 
ery bushes. It is the type of a decaying country. In front of 



48 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

the church are several considerable piles of stones, brought there 
hy the women on feast-days for building material. Still faithful 
to the duties of religion, thej are perfectly satisfied to be within 
sound of the church bell's clangor, and, amid the turmoils of 
revolutions and battles, they need but the reflection that they 
have contributed their weekly stipend to the holy work to ban- 
ish all thoughts of care. 

There are four churches in Eivas, in all of which mass is daily 
said and the usual Sunday services performed. Excepting the 
increased tinsel and ceremonies, the rites are similar to those of 
the Catholic church elsewhere. Most of the worshipers are 
women, who make it the first duty of the morning to repair to 
mass. Kneeling upon the stone pavement, with faces toward 
the altar, they seem motionless as statues, while the monotonous 
voice of the priest chants at intervals, accompanied by a few 
choristers with one or two violins, a rude violoncello, and often 
a clarionet. 

One of the padres, a remarkable old man, with intelligent face 
and dignified mien, had been to the United States some twenty 
years before, and, returning, brought with him the bust of his 
idol — Washington — which, curiously enough, now occupied a 
niche in the church at which he officiated, standing vis a vis 
with the cowled and bearded images of saints and martyrs. 

After four days of impatient waiting for the arrival of mules 
promised us by our ariero fi*om Virgin Bay, the lions of Rivas 
began to cloy upon our tastes. A small degree of attention and 
observation suffices to possess one of every fact of interest con- 
nected with the place. Its quiet rural scenery, dead streets, 
silent churches, and listless inhabitants, affi^rd but an uninter- 
esting theme. On the third day my patience began to exhaust 
itself, despite the friendly admonitions of my friend Dixon, at 
San Juan, to " keep cool." The monotony of the life became 
disgusting. Day after day I awaited the arrival of the prom- 
ised mules, and finally dispatched a courier to Virgin Bay for 
them, who returned on the same evening with the laconic an- 
nouncement " ?io hay'"' — ^there are none. Messages sent to San 
Jorge, Obraje, Potosi, and other surrounding places, where I 
heard of arieros herding their mules, were equally unsuccess- 
ful. In fact, the custom pursued by the government of sura- 



A VISIT TO THE COMMANDANTE. 49 

marily seizing man and beast for the purposes of the war, made 
every mule-owner fearful of exposing his property. 

On the evening of the fourth day I made my fifth solemn 
engagement with natives for animals, all the preceding ones 
having proved futile, the parties not even appearing to offer an 
excuse for non-compliance with the contract. The doctor rec- 
ommended me to " keep cool, and not fret ;" I should learn more 
of the habits of the people before I left the country. The fel- 
low with whom I now engaged promised, with such an air of 
sincerity, to be at the door punctually at 8 o'clock, that I could 
not disbelieve him. The doctor, however, laughed at my idea 
of starting on the day proposed, and the seiiora stared at me as 
a wonder of hurry and precipitation when I ordered the baggage 
packed and placed in a convenient spot for loading. The pre- 
dictions of my host were too true — I never saw my man again. 

I now bethought myself of making application to Don Buena- 
ventura Selva, Commandante Militar of the Department, and a 
strong Castellon man. Taking my friend Davis to introduce 
me, I proceeded to the cuartel. A barefooted sentinel stood at 
the doorway, who shouldered his musket as we came up, in def- 
erence to a military cap which the doctor had insisted upon my 
wearing to enforce our demands, observing that any martial in- 
signia would do more to insure respect than a whole Chester- 
field of politeness. 

We found the commandante seated in a large, straight-backed 
arm-chair, in company with several official-looking personages, 
all smoking dgarros, while two men, apparently just arrived 
from a long journey, were eating tortillas and cheese in an ad- 
joining room. My companion introduced me bluntly as the 
bearer of dispatches from the United States to Don Francisco 
Castellon ! an assertion I did not think it prudent to contradict 
at the time. The company arose at the announcement, which 
was made with great formality, and the habitual politeness of 
the Spaniard became apparent. The news from California was 
inquired for, and the subject of my negotiations delicately hint- 
ed at, but it was a part of my diplomacy to remain silent upon 
this head. Don Buenaventura blamed me for not calling upon 
him for mules, as the orders of government were to forward all 
public persons at the state's expense, which I afterward learned 

D 



50 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

consisted in forcibly detaining the first animal that presented it- 
self. Mules were promised for that afternoon, and with many 
obsequious bows and the exchange of cigarros (an emblem of 
friendship) we departed. "At last," thought I, "the long- 
wished-for mules are forthcoming." Toward evening we called 
again, lest the " cares of state" should have caused our com- 
raandante to forget his profuse promises. He assured us, how- 
ever, that our mules were close at hand, and would be ready as 
soon as our baggage was prepared. But night came, and, upon 
renewing our visit at daylight, Senor Buenaventura had left 
town to be gone all day. 

This disappointment over, we applied to an officer near by to 
let us two sorry-looking beasts feeding upon secate in the jpatio., 
which, after two hours' consideration, he agreed to do at an ex- 
orbitant price. It was too late, however, to effect any thing 
that day, and we retired to our house to await the hour of start- 
ing on the following morning. A night's rest restored our tem- 
pers, and we early dispatched our man round to the cuartel for 
the beasts. After an hour's absence, he returned with the not 
unexpected announcement "wo hay /" I now began to de- 
spair. It appeared that neither fair promises nor money could 
purchase mules in Rivas, nor could they be stolen or borrowed. 
But, while we were becoming nearly blasphemous on the subject 
of Nicaraguan punctuality or the want of it, a muleteer arrived 
from Rivas, on his way to Masaya, with several cargoes of ca- 
cao and three saddle-mules. A bargain was soon struck, and, 
though not willing to start at once, which would have proved 
an anomaly in Central American habits, we got fairly away by 
5 o'clock P.M. 

It being noised abroad that " los Americanos''' were about 
starting, our party was joined by nearly a dozen natives, who, 
as we now found, had been awaiting the benefit of our escort 
and company on the road. We tarried until a heavy thunder- 
storm had passed, and then mounting, defiled in regular order 
across the Plaza, passed the barracks, and out of the town, Dr. 
Davis leading the column, and looking back with no little pride 
at the array of mounted men and bristling arms. The proces- 
sion, ludicrous as it appeared to us, with its shaggy, long-eared 
mules, and the mixed costume of their riders, was, nevertheless, 



DEPAETUEE FROM EIVAS. 51 

a formidable-looking band, and a number of enthusiastic "^J^- 
vas /" attested to the impression we made as we left the town. 
Four of us carried rifles and revolvers, and the remainder either 
old flint-lock muskets or harmless pistols — the martial display 
of which, added to the respect given to armed Americans, was 
deemed of sufficient importance to prevent attack from any small 
body of the enemy likely to be scouring the highway. 

A few minutes' ride carried us out of the town. Opposite 
the house of Sefior Hurtado we met an American resident riding 
furiously into Rivas, who advised us to turn back and await the 
confirmation of the news of the approach of Chamorro's troops. 
The roads he represented as next to impassable, and infested 
with hostile bodies of men. But a week of this monotonous 
life had thoroughly disgusted me, and, anxious to press on, we 
determined to run the gauntlet and risk the chances. The es- 
tate opposite to which we stood in consultation was deserted 
save by a few natives left in charge and the usual pack of dogs. 
Pursuing our march, we crossed the River Gonzales, about five 
miles from the town, and at 6 o'clock arrived at the village of 
Obraje, where it was deemed prudent to pass the night. As 
we rode up to the little cuartel^ the commander came forth to 
meet us, and upon learning we were Americans and on the Cas- 
tellon side, ordered one of his men to bring out a jug of aguardi- 
ente, passing the liquor around to the group in turn. The sen- 
tinel, who, on our appearance, had not made up his mind as to 
our stripe, actually trembled as we drew up in front of the ca- 
hilda, but, seeing the liquor brought forth, became reassured of 
our friendly disposition. 

At the invitation of a venerable old man, who offered us such 
entertainment as his house afforded for the night, we dismount- 
ed, and, sending our animals to a corral near by, entered the 
house, where the sefiora and her daughters quietly prepared a 
smoking supper for the troop. 

While we were unsaddling the mules, the bell of the little 
church struck the signal for oracion, when, in an instant, every 
head was uncovered, and for a few minutes a silence fell upon 
the town until the tinkling monitor led off with a merry peal, 
upon which the previous occupations were renewed. From the 
commander of the post to the meanest inhabitant, the observance 



52 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

of this little rite seemed an habitual duty to be regarded as sa- 
cred. Months afterward, among the lonely mountains of Hon- 
duras, when this ceremony was repeated at the secluded villages 
of the interior, I always remembered this, the first occasion on 
which I had witnessed it. But a moment is occupied, no duties 
are neglected, and by many it might be regarded as a symbol 
of slavish obedience to the formalities of Catholicism ; but the 
act, so simple in itself, so primitive in its character, has ever 
since remained pleasantly impressed on my mind, as an evidence 
of the devout tendencies of the people. 

At night we spread our blankets around the corridor, and 
under a canopy of sky thickly studded with stars, the silver 
crescent sinking behind the deep foliage to the westward, our 
party was soon asleep, one of the number keeping guard ; 
though the precaution seemed hardly necessary, considering the 
proximity of the neighboring sentinel. 

At early dawn we were astir, and having paid our old enter- 
tainer, we mounted, and at six o'clock left the town, bidding a 
jovial farewell to the fat commandante, and hiring a boy to 
guide us through a road running to the westward of the camino, 
real, which we learned was almost impassable with mud. An-, 
tonio, our guide, offered his services to Masaya for five dollars ; 
and though we took his assertion '■'• hay lodo sehores hasta la 
cincha" with due allowance, still it seemed better to proceed 
cautiously. Accordingly, we left the usual highway, and, fol- 
lowing our bare-legged conductor, who trotted lightly along in 
advance, were quickly buried in a dense forest, through which 
the path ran in a zigzag course, adapting itself to the inequali- 
ties of the ground. The morning was delicious, and with the 
cheery notes of bright-winged birds, the glimpses of clear sky 
obtained from amid the lattice-work of graceful limbs, and the 
fresh and invigorating air of the woods, we pushed merrily on, 
conversing with our native companions, who freely expressed 
their opinions of the revolution. Most of them were merchants 
— men, more than others, likely to feel the depressing influence 
of the wretched system of government under which they labor- 
ed, and careless of any change through which a commercial sta- 
bility might be reinstated. 

The scenery throughout our ride of about eight miles, from 



LOS CANDELEROS. 53 

Obraje to a small hacienda called Los Candeleros, was of the 
most romantic and beautiful description. It was in the season 
of the heaviest rains, when the damp mould, steaming with 
heat, and forcing into life the rank vegetation of the country, 
gave birth to every variety of vine and creeper, forming tangled 
Avebs along the path, or climbing the stately ceibas, flashing 
with its superb red flower, twined their rich emerald festoons 
among the tasseled blossoms. Twice we saw groups of red 
monkeys chasing each other through the forest, and pursuing 
their gambols at a dizzy height ; now swinging with wonderful 
precision from limb to limb, or hanging above our path, and 
scolding with ludicrous earnestness at our intrusion upon their 
domain. Flocks of parrots enlivened the woods with their 
screams, and the occasional harsh cry of the blue heron min- 
gled at times with the howl of the mono coloi'ado. We were 
just in the vein to enjoy to the utmost the freshness and wild 
beauty of the scene, while each new and strange object had for 
us all the charms with which the reader's imagination first rev- 
els in the florid descriptions of tropical life and scenery. 

At noon we were at Los Candeleros, a secluded spot, situ- 
ated about midway between the lake and ocean, and scarcely 
ever visited except in the season of the rains, when it serves as 
a sort of half-way house for travelers on this by-path between 
Rivas and Nandyme. Crossing a shallow creek, pouring vio- 
lently over the rocks toward the Eio Gonzales, into which it 
empties, we came suddenly upon a mule-train under the direc- 
tion of a muleteer of so suspicious a look that the doctor, much 
against our wishes, stopped him and demanded to see his pass- 
port. It was not, however, a time to demur ; rapine and 
treachery were abroad, and the man, with no ceremony, pro- 
duced his papers, which were rigidly examined, after which he 
was suffered to pass. Our friend offered as an excuse that sup- 
plies of powder were expected to be smuggled to certain ad- 
herents of Chamorro at Rivas. The ariero^ however, seemed 
to think it a matter of course to be searched. A few rods from 
the creek, and up a steep declivity, we came to the hacienda, 
said once to have been a place of considerable importance, but 
now displaying only a few bush-huts, in one of which we found 
two natives, who started up at our arrival, evidently alarmed at 



54 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

our appearance and numbers. They were soon reassured, and 
in reply to our inquiries for "beef or food of any kind, pointed to 
a thicket near by, in which they said a deer could be easily 
shot. 

We left the doctor to superintend the rebuilding of a fire, the 
embers of which were still smoking within the hut, and a spright- 
ly little old native, named Cebellos, offering to accompany me, 
we sallied out into the valley beneath, as much to obtain a 
draft of the pure water of the brook as with any hope of meet- 
ing game. We had scarcely penetrated twenty rods, when the 
peculiar hissing noise used in Central America to attract atten- 
tion caused us to look back, and we espied one of the natives, 
who had silently followed us, pointing down the stream. I fol- 
lowed the direction indicated, and my heart jumped with excite- 
ment at seeing a beautiful buck standing beneath a projecting 
rock, with his fore legs in the water, his head and ears erect, 
nostrils dilated, and a pair of great black eyes staring intently 
at our movements ; beyond was a doe, equally interested in 
watching us, the two not fifty yards off. In another moment 
I had my rifle leveled. The unsuspecting innocence with 
which these usually shy creatures awaited the discharge caused 
me to almost falter in the murderous design. The scruple was 
but momentary. My two native companions wrinkled up their 
faces in anticipation, and in another moment, as the woods re- 
echoed the crack of the rifle, my glorious prize sprang forward, 
and, with a single bound, reached the crag, stopped, struggled 
upward, and finally fell heavily into the bed of the creek. Ce- 
bellos uttered a triumphant yell, and rushed toward the victim, 
while the doe disappeared like a flash into the woods. The na- 
tive deliberately drew his knife, and, cutting the throat of the 
animal, dissected enough for present use, and, backing it up to 
the camp, presently set before us a delicious steak, the cutting 
of which I took care to direct ; for the gente del pais beyond the 
immediate vicinity of the Transit Route, where their contact 
with foreigners has somewhat civilized them, have little idea of 
carving, cutting off huge, unwieldy lumps of beef or venison, 
which they throw upon the coals, and eat half cooked, and 
charred on the outside to a crisp. 

I presented the occupants of the hut with such of the meat as 



A SUDDEN STOP. 55 

was not required by our party, and at 3 o'clock we resumed the 
journey toward Nandyme, followed by the hearty '■'■ adios" of the 
natives, whose good opinion of Americans had been greatly in- 
creased by sundry potations from the doctor's aguardiente fount- 
ain, which, as I thought, held out like the widow's cruse. 

The heat had now grown intense. The woods, becoming 
copses somewhat like the oak openings of our Western country, 
disclosed green patches of grass, in which we found growing the 
7nansa7iito, or wild apple of the country. We also passed the 
ruins of an indigo estate, the vats and rude machinery hidden 
from view by vines and shrubbery, which, in this climate, how- 
ever often the hand of industry may clear them away, reproduce 
themselves, as if by magic, and quickly overrun the neglected 
plantation. From a small eminence on our route we obtained 
an extensive view of the valley of Nandyme, glowing in the 
sunlight, and the scene bounded by the undulating woodlands 
around the volcano of Masaya. 

At 6 o'clock we arrived at the River Ochomogo, evidently 
dry in the summer, and having now, after the late copious rains, 
but three feet of water. Our path led directly out of the forest 
into the main road, and, crossing the stream, we observed a sol- 
itary horseman spur away toward Nandyme. We rode up to 
the hacienda, consisting of one large adobe house recently built, 
and used as a residence for vaqueros, this being one of the prin- 
cipal cattle estates in southern Nicaragua. Two young men 
gazed earnestly at us through the partly-closed window, and 
then, issuing from the building, ran hastily toward the doctor, 
to whom they whispered the ominous words, 

'■'-Cuidado, el enemigo .^" 

'■'■Adonde V asked the doctor. 

^^Aqui no mas," was the whispered response; and then the 
doctor, recognizing in the speaker a former patient whose life 
he had saved by the performance of a surgical operation, ascer- 
tained that los Ckainoristos, consisting of eighty men, had left 
Nandyme the day before, and were now on their way to Eivas. 
The horseman who had so unceremoniously left on seeing us 
was one of the scouts who had been ordered to watch for our 
appearance. Not anticipating our taking the upper road, we 
had surprised him. The brother of our informant lay inside, 



5Q EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

grievously wounded with a bayonet stab received the day be- 
fore at Nandyme. " Yuelvete ! vuelvete /" urged our friend, 
as he surveyed the party: '■'■Mataron a todos los Americanos /" 

Here we were in a pretty plight. But we had chosen the 
chance, and now to return by the uiain road, with the mud up 
to our horses' bellies, was terrible to contemplate. There was 
but short time for consultation ; a bright-eyed little chico now 
made his appearance in great terror from the upper road, shout- 
ing to his companions of the house, 

'■'■Yienen! vienenP'' (they are coming!) '■'• Cuidado !'"' (look 
out!) and dodged into the thicket. 

Believing discretion to be the better part of valor, at least in 
this instance, we rode into the woods, and, getting about half a 
mile off the road, sent back our guide by a circuitous path to 
observe their movements. In ten minutes he returned. It ap- 
peared there were seventy or eighty of them, nearly all drunk, 
and the officer closely questioning the boys as to the passage 
of a party of Americans with dispatches for Castellon. The 
whole truth then flashed upon me ; notice had been sent to Gran- 
ada from Rivas of our intended journey to Leon, and hence the 
anxiety to secure us. To hazard a fight with our few natives 
against such odds was impossible, and to Loldly face the matter 
out would at least have insured our arrest and detention at 
Granada, where an accidental shot might put us out of trouble, 
as had already occurred to a foreigner carried thither in a similar 
way, to say nothing of the letters from the Californian author- 
ities acknowledging the Castellon cause, directed to the Presi- 
dent, and, lastly, my belt of doubloons, the loss of which would 
have been an equally emphatic terminus to the enterprise. 

We held a hurried consultation, and finding our American 
resident friends determined not to place their already forfeited 
lives in the power of the enemy, we turned back toward Bivas, 
audibly cursing the Ghamoristos, and resolving to await the ar- 
rival of a vessel at San Juan del Sur for Realejo, should it cost 
us a month's time. 

Antonio was sent back to watch the movements of the troops, 
and, continuing our slow tramp through the mud, we halted 
about 11 o'clock at the hacienda of San Francisco, where we 
found our guide had already arrived by a westerly path. The 



RETUKN TO RIVAS. 57 

place was inhabited hj women, who showed ns no particular 
good-will, though tliej offered us shelter there for the night. 
All were busily engaged in making tortillas before a bright fire, 
the more comfortable from the pitiless rain which now poured 
down from a leaden sky. The hacienda — the property of a 
leading Chamorro man — had long been known as the head- 
quarters of that party along the road, and the doctor viewed the 
bread-making with great suspicion, as evidence of the expect- 
ed arrival of a number of visitors. Who these were likely to 
be, the troops in our rear seemed to indicate ; so, after a hasty 
supper of tortillas, we resumed the march, passing the same 
night through Pueblo Nuevo and Obraje, and arriving at Rivas 
in the midst of a soaking rain an hour before daylight. We 
had previously dispatched Antonio to the town to warn the lit- 
tle garrison, and already, through the darkness and mist, could 
be seen, as we re-entered the town, squads of troops arriving 
hastily from San Jorge, Virgin Bay, Obraje, and Potosi. Dr. 
Cole had his mules packed for flight, and, to judge from the sad- 
dled horses standing around the Plaza, a general stampede was 
meditated. 

We had ridden nearly twenty-four hours, not at the easy 
hand-gallop which, with its cradle-like motion, a comfortable 
saddle, and even road, create the essence of hearty pleasure and 
exhilaration, but painfully plodding through a miry waste, with- 
out food, drenched with rain, and our limbs aching with the mo- 
notonous motion of a mule-walk, one of the most tiresome 1 
can call to memory. 

It was with no ordinary satisfaction that we threw ourselves 
upon the floor of the doctor's house and fell into a heavy slum- 
ber, from which rest not even the skipping regiments of fleas, 
nor the lusty chanting of game-cocks, who commenced their ma- 
tutinal hymns just as we arrived, could awaken us. 



58 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDURAS. 



CHAPTER III. 

A V"isit to the Commandante Militar. — Good-by to Rivas. — San Juan del Sur 
again. — The " Tres Amigos." — At Sea on the Coast of Nicaragua. — Fellow- 
passengers. — Morning. — Port of Realejo. — The Town. — Convent of San Fran- 
cisco. — Hidden Treasures. — Ride to Chinandega. — Arrival. — Reception at 
house of Senor Montealegre. — Novel method of Taxation. — Thunder-storm. — 
A Morning Bath. — Foreign Prejudices. — A Nicaraguan Elysium. 

The sun was streaming full through the heavily-barred win- 
dow when C aroused us with the report of his pistol. The 

events of the night, with the dull sense of aching Tbones, and 
drowsy ideas of dark, muddy roads and hostile "greasers," 
coupled with the sudden discharge of the weapon, made us im- 
agine a surprise from the enemy. All sprang to their feet, but 
found that our friend had only been amusing himself at our ex- 
pense. Refreshed with our short nap, we repaired to the cuar- 
tel, where we found the commandante with his usual placid 
smile. He gave us a sinister look as we entered, too plainly 
betokening the source from whence the information had been 
forwarded of our intended journey to Leon. I was on the point 
of waiving formalities and charging home the treachery which 
had nearly resulted in our capture, when Doctor Davis, foaming 
like a wild boar, entered the apartment. Enraged as we all 
were, we gladly made room for the superior volubility of our 
friend, whose gigantic proportions and known ferocity of char- 
acter had already made him an object of fear and slavish admi- 
ration among the natives. For five minutes did the wrathful 
doctor rage about the room, and it was curious to observe the 
wonder-stricken faces of the guard peering into the place, and 
listening with respectful awe to the deep-mouthed maledictions 
of our champion. It was in vain that the wily commandante 
fawned and proffered cigarros ; his perfidy was too apparent. 
The last remark made by the doctor as we left the room was 
accompanied with a significant motion across his throat, to which 
the commandante made no reply but by a grim and sickly smile. 

Following the example of the population, and this time hav- 



THE "TRES AMIGOS." 59 

ing our ariero on the hip by refusing to pay him until he placed 
our baggage in San Juan, we left the town on the following 
morning, and, arriving at Virgin Bay, returned the dispatches 
confided to us by Judge Gushing, who quietly remarked, as I 
briefly recounted the events of the journey, that he had counted 
upon seeing us return two days sooner than we did. At noon 
the next day we were again in sight of San Juan del Sur, and 
our little party uttered an exclamation of delight as, winding 
out of the woods, we saw a fine, taunt-looking schooner at anchor 
in the Bay. We now found that Mr. Matsell, with his friends 
the Dardanos, had pursued their original design of going to Re- 
alejo, a boat from Salinas Bay having fortunately touched at San 
Juan on her way up the coast. 

Three days in San Juan, without even the temporary excite- 
ment of the transit of passengers to enliven its dull monotony, 
caused us to hail with pleasure the animated announcement 
from Mr. Craigmiles, her supercargo, that we must go at once 
on board. We were not long, with the assistance of a few 
reals, in getting our baggage on board, and, much to our sur- 
prise, we found the crew already heaving up the anchor — an in- 
stance of punctuality and dispatch we had little expected, and 
which we hailed as a new era in the dilatory afiairs of our jour- 
ney. A fresh land-breeze filled the sails, and in an hour the 
town of San Juan, with its slowly-constructing mole, primitive 
huts, and the uninviting white and red hotels and saloons, be- 
came a faint line in the horizon. 

The name of our vessel was the T7'es Amigos, a stout old 
schooner of about 100 tons, whose many voyages along the Cen- 
tral American coast had made her, as the supercargo asserted, 
" her own best pilot, entering the usual ports by instinct." Cap- 
tain San Antonio, a native of Costa Rica, disdained the use of 
compass or quadrant, while his cofiee-colored fingers were guilt- 
less of ever having traced a course on chart, or held in their 
greasy clutch the useless dividers. He ran his vessel, as he in- 
formed me was customary in this trade, entirely by the head- 
lands and stars, these latter celestial luminaries, during the great- 
er part of the year, studding the calm, unclouded heavens, and 
guiding the mariner, in the absence of the moon, with unerring 
accuracy. The rote, or noise of the surf, is the usual scapegoat 



60 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

on dark nights. Some forty passengers were on board, two of 
them — Sehores Mateo Saens and Antonio Martines — young 
priests of Leon, who now, since the death of Don Jorge Viteri, 
Bishop of Leon, were returning from the ceremonies of ordina- 
tion performed for them at San Jose, the capital of Costa Eica, 
hy the bishop Anselmo Llorente. The remainder were Guate- 
maltecos returning home from Costa Rica. 

Our passage, owing to light winds and calms, occupied two 
days and nights. The little vessel, crowded from stem to stern, 
seemed, with the incessant converse of the natives, more like an 
overgrown hen-coop than a " packet." At night, the few berths 
in the cabin being pre-empted by the burliest of them, the re- 
mainder spread their ponchos upon the deck, a far pleasanter 
resting-place than the contracted quarters below, hot with the 
vapor of foul breaths, and the little air struggling for admittance 
down the companion-way expelled by the closely-shut hatch. 

With the idle sails hanging straight above our heads, each 
lay and watched the mast-heads describe erratic courses among 
the stars until lulled to sleep by the monotonous flapping. No 
sound was heard but the regular breathing of the slumberers. 
Even the helmsman, yielding to the drowsy inclination, loosened 
his rigid grasp upon the spokes, and, leaning over the wheel, 
dreamed away the silent hours. The night was absolutely 
calm ; new and strange constellations glittered along the heav- 
ens ; the north star, the centre of their revolving motion, now 
close to the horizon, and dimly defined in the lustrous mist, 
hanging like transparent amber above the ocean. Far inland 
through the night came the sullen roar of the surf breaking on 
the beach, while the distant outline of mountains loomed up like 
spectral giants through the darkness. One of the priests, una- 
ble to sleep, passed me, and, observing my eyes open, proffered 
me a cigar, which I lit by the glowing one he held between his 
fingers. Formalities thus broken, he was shortly recounting 
his adventures in Guatemala, and in return I gave him a de- 
scription of the great inventions of the day now in common use 
in the United States. His ideas, however, were Guatemalan 
and English, and believing that but one country in the world 
was in advance of his own in the arts of progress, I ceased my 
attempt. Like most Guatemalans, whose connection with the 



THE PORT OF REALEJO. 61 

English has prejudiced them against every thing American, my 
companion had been taught to regard the United States as a 
thriving country, and commendably ambitious to assume a lead- 
ing position among nations, but as yet in a comparatively colo- 
nial position w^ith England. The names of our most illustrious 
men after tlie glorious phalanx of the Revolution he was entire- 
ly unacquainted with, and admitted that, beside the few histor- 
ical works he had seen on the United States, his ideas of the 
Northern Eepublic had been gleaned from the Mexican publica- 
tions, which regularly found their way to Guatemala. He was 
one of the few educated men I encountered in the country, and 
displayed an anxiety for information, with an unassuming gen- 
tlemanly demeanor, very engaging after the uncultivated boors 
I had met in Nicaragua. My clerical friend had with him a 
copy of Chesterfield's Letters, translated into Spanish, and pub- 
lished in Mexico. These he seemed to value very highly, and 
assured me he was attempting to mould his views and actions 
by these models. 

As we awoke on the morning of the second day, the rainbow 
hues of the dawn were shooting athwart the sea from among 
the frowning gulleys and peaks of El Viejo. A gentle breeze 
from seaward just distended the dew-dampened sails, the schoon- 
er cutting her way leisurely toward an indentation in the coast 
which our laconic skipper called "Punta Caca." A long cloud 
of smoke from Monotombo, wreathed into feathery, fantastic fig- 
ures, stretched with wonderful distinctness against the glimmer- 
ing horizon, while the expanse of foliage, extending toward us 
from the foot of El Yiejo, sparkling in the splendors of the morn- 
ing, seemed to invite us to enter their delicious shades. Along 
the shore, a line of foam showed where the restless surf spent 
its fury, and north and south, as far as the eye could reach, 
lofty volcanic cones, blue as indigo, lifted their peaks into the 
clouds, and exposed their rugged edges against the flashing sky. 
It was a sight which has ineffaceably impressed itself on my 
memory, and even the natives, used to the gorgeous beauty of 
Central American scenery, aroused themselves from their habit- 
ual stupor, and drawled out " que galan la tnanana /" 

With a freshening breeze we passed the island of Cordon, 
forming the entrance, and in a few moments let go the anchor in 



62 



EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 




ENTBANCE TO THE POKT OF KEALEJO. 



the harbor of Realejo, the solitary Pacific port of Nicaragua, 
and rendered memorable in history by the exploits of the buc- 
caneers of the seventeenth century. 

During the summer of 1851, with the establishment of the 
Nicaraguan route through Granada and Realejo, it was supposed 
this port would resume its ancient position in the commercial 
world. The most insane speculations in land and the grandest 
plans of improvement were projected. With the withdrawal of 
the steamers, Realejo subsided into the state of listless inactiv- 
ity from which the contact with Americans had galvanized it, 
and, excepting the remembrance of the stirring days of the 
" Transit Route," with the attendant filching of dimes from los 
Y^ankees, the temporary prosperity of the place has departed. 

The possibility of its becoming the Pacific terminus of the 
inter-oceanic canal, which for centuries has been the drowsy 
theme of speculation for every maritime government in Chris- 
tendom, gives the harbor of Realejo yet some little value in the 
eyes of the world. But since the rejection, by the English cap- 
italists, of Colonel Child's survey, in which the canal was pro- 
posed of such dimensions as to preclude the possibility of a 
modern clipper ship crossing the continent, attention seems, by 



PASSAGE TO THE TOWN. 63 

common consent, to have been withdrawn from the great project. 
The perfection to which Lieutenant Maury has brought the art 
of navigation has also demonstrated the fact that the voyage to 
India would not be shortened by the canal. A j)roject, for the 
control of which the nations of Europe have eyed the Central 
American isthmus with the keenest jealausy, and for which the 
commercial rivalry of England and the United States had nearly 
brought them into belligerent attitudes, has been abandoned as 
impracticable, or, at least, as either uncalled for by the require- 
ments of commerce, or, under the estimates of the great capital- 
its, as an unremunerative speculation. 

The distance from the port to the town of Realejo is about 
two leagues, the accommodations for the passage consisting of a 
diminutive dingy, owned by two youngsters, who, placing our 
baggage in a large boat, to follow more leisurely, plied them- 
selves to their task, and half an hour of rowing took us so far 
beyond the first bend of the river as to shut out the ocean, and 
render the roar of its mighty surf but a confused murmur from 
among the trees. The tide was fast flowing as we shot through 
long and silent reaches of water, reflecting in its glassy surface 
the banks of jungle skirting the river on either side. 

About three miles up we passed the ruins of a small fort, on 
the southern bank, said to have been erected by the buccaneers 
in some of their descents upon the country. Its piles of stone, 
among which, and the masses of weeds and grass covering them, 
the tide ebbs and flows, brought vividly to mind the terrific 
fights and ruthless cruelties practiced by these hardy sea-rovers, 
and the feeble race upon whom they directed their attacks. Up 
these waters the old marauding leader guided his bearded band, 
and, entering Realejo, sacked the city, then containing fifteen 
thousand inhabitants, and departed with scarcely the loss of a 
man. 

Within a mile of Realejo an artificial channel has been cut by 
the Padre Remijia Salazar, whose many acts of benevolence 
have endeared him to all classes, and rendered him almost an 
object of worship among them. Our boat scraped the bottom 
as we pushed through, and a few minutes afterward, rounding a 
point of dense woodland, apparently well adapted to the culti- 
vation of all the tropical productions, we ran alongside a small, 



64 



EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 




LANDING AT THE tOiil OP EEALEJO. 



half-decayed wharf extending into the middle of the creek, and 
forming the landing-place to the town. 

We sprang ashore, and, thanking our stars that we had 
reached the northern part of the state so easily, made our way 
to a hotel kept by a blustering Englishman, who welcomed us 
to his house with the easy familiarity characterizing those who 
deal particularly with seamen. Our baggage lagged behind for 
inspection at the custom-house, the force at that establishment 
and at the cuartel adjoining it amounting to two lean negroes 
and a smart-looking native officer, whose polite salutation as we 
approached, added to a dash of regimental finery about his 
neatly-fitting pantaloons and jacket, made us regard him with 
more than ordinary favor. 

Eealejo, as it is, may be seen to satiety in an hour. We re- 
mained tliere just long enough to chat with the Englishman, 
who knew nothing about the history of the place anterior to the 
establishment of the Transit Route, and evidently supposed it 
to have been founded at that epoch ! and to enter into a conver- 
sation with the solitary padre of the place, who, delighted at the 
prospect of an audience, commenced a detailed narration of the 
founding of the city in the sixteenth century, the former glory 



CONVENT OF SAN FRANCISCO. 65 

of its convent and its "buildings, the incursions of the filibusters, 
and the gradual decay of the place under the Spanish rule. 
The old native stoutly affirmed that a large treasure was buried 
among the ruins of the convent of San Francisco, a part of 
which had been found, and that Don Julio Balcke, a German 
gentleman with whom I afterward became acquainted, had pur- 
chased the land upon which the convent stood for $4000, in- 
tending, when labor was cheaper, to have the ground upturned 
in quest of the doubloons. Mr. Balcke confirmed the statement 
subsequently, and assured me that sums of money had been 
found in and around the ruins. We walked leisurely through 
them, and marked the quick sinking to decay which, in this 
climate, attends works of human labor. Even the ponderous 
blocks of stone in the tower-walls, left standing by the destroy- 
ers, had been displaced by the invading jungle, which, attain- 
ing in this prolific soil a rapidity of growth unknown in colder 
climates, from shrubs, become, in a few years, great trees, dis- 
jointing and throwing down the solid masonry in their resist- 
less progress. But a few years will suffice for these silent 
agents to overgrow even the remnants yet existing to mark the 
former wealth and splendor of the San Franciscan convent. 
Eealejo now contains three thousand inhabitants, and the only 
building making the slightest claim to architectural })retensions 
is the church of San Benito. It has some commercial import- 
ance, being the sea-port of Leon, Chinandega, and the great ag- 
ricultural district included between the foot-hills of the Segovia 
and Chontales mountains and the Pacific — the prolific country 
known as the great plain of Leon. No statistics have been 
kept at Realejo during the last three years of revolutionary 
wars, so that the exports and imports of the place are mere 
matters of conjecture. 

I had been accompanied from California by the son of a gen- 
tleman of Chinandega, Don Mariano Montealegre. His arrival 
from el Norte was hailed throughout Realejo with the vocifer- 
ous congratulations of his many acquaintances, and, introducing 

S — e C and myself to the groups who clustered around 

him, we soon found ourselves objects of special attention. 

Horses were procured for Don Mariano and myself, my two 
companions remaining at Realejo to stay by the baggage, which 

E 



66 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

could not be transported until the following day ; so, bidding my 
first temporary adieu to these friends since our departure togeth- 
er from San Francisco, I accepted the invitation of Don Maria- 
no, and, splendidly mounted on one of his father's numerous 
horses, galloped with him out of the place by the road to Chi- 
nandega. 

It required but a minute's ride to carry us beyond the pre- 
cincts of the dirty little town into a country beautiful beyond 
any I had ever known, and at every turn disclosing fresh views 
of rural magnificence which, much as I had been prepared for 
the scene, took me entirely by surprise. Every other tree bore 
a fruit, a flower, or was a valuable dye-wood ; almost every 
shrub was medicinal. Here the catholicon spreads its roots; 
the ceiba, the guapinol, palm, tamarind, orange, plantain, banana, 
fig, and dozens of others familiar to the eye, display their fruits 
among the leaves by the wayside, and, hanging in tempting clus- 
ters from the branches, invite the traveler to taste their luscious 
sweets. The cactus, that in less genial climes raises its puny 
head three feet after a course of hot-house and tender nursing, 
grows here to the height of thirty feet, without a branch, and 
thick as a man's body. Fences for miles are built of this green 
mass, in many places mixed with the lighter shade of the cas- 
tor-oil plant, the clustering beans at a distance resembling 
bunches of unripe grapes. These fences are actually the most 
durable in the world, becoming every year more impenetrable, 
and springing up in endless quantities. 

The road, leading through a level country, wound romantical- 
ly through such scenes as these, while the dust, of which all vis- 
itors here complain in the summer months, was now laid by the 
constant rains, though the roads were not injured by them, ca- 
ratones or ox-wagons passing from the port to Eealejo through- 
out the year. The soil is a black loam, from five to eight feet 
deep, and producing two crops annually. . Many products grow 
spontaneously. The eye is constantly feasted with the most 
charming prospects and romantic views, most of them termina- 
ting with the rich, velvety green of some volcano, sloping gradu- 
ally down from the base of its perfect cone into the broad level 
of the plain. 

The few persons we met on the road either stopped to con- 



A GALLOP INTO CHINANDEGA. 67 

gratulate Don Mariano on his return, or, if strangers to him, ob- 
sequiously exchanged salutations as they passed. The habitual 
politeness of the Central American has been frequently noticed. 
It is a feature distinguishing them from the off-hand, business- 
Uke carelessness of the Anglo-Saxon. This is particularly the 
case among the lower classes, who, with all their ultra republic- 
an notions, have not been able to conquer an almost servile def- 
erence to apparent superiority in dress, appearance, or manner. 
Not to receive a respectful, if not hearty obeisance from a stran- 
ger when traveling is the exception to the rule. 

Our ride through the fairy-like scenes of the Chinandega road 
occupied about an hour, when the increased number of houses 
and barking of dogs showed that we were in the immediate sub- 
urbs of a town ; and while a few heavy drops of rain, assisted by 
the muttered thunders around El Viejo, warned us of the ap- 
proaching chubasco, we spurred into the paved streets of Chinan- 
dega, and, passing groups of Don Mariano's acquaintances, rode 
to the family mansion, forming the corner of two wide, well- 
paved streets, and near the principal church of the place. The 
town stands upon a plain about three miles from the slope of 
El Viejo, and has been for some years one of the most prosper- 
ous places of Central America, not having, like Leon, suffered 
from the destruction of its houses and public buildings in the 
Eevolution. We were here in the month of September, which, 
being near the closing period of the rains, is reckoned the pleas- 
antest in the year. 

We dismounted at the door, from which several servants 
came forward to receive our horses, while from the spacious sola 
within a crowd of relatives rushed out with the enthusiastic 
greetings peculiar to the warm blood of the Spanish American, 
and dragged Mariano into the house, loading him with caresses. 

In a few words my companion explained to his mother and 
sisters that the stranger was his friend, when I was formally in- 
troduced, and the house placed "at my disposition," the usual 
method of recommending one to make himself at home. The 
residence of Senor Montealegre is actually the largest and most 
costly in the town, though not so well furnished with the mod- 
ern improvements as that of Mr. Thomas Manning, British con- 
sul at Leon. The senor himself arrived shortly after, and re- 



68 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

newed the hospitable welcome extended by the mistress of the 
house. The private parlor, or sitting-room, into which we re- 
tired, seemed to contain the most valuable articles of the family. 
Here was the library of religious and historical works, most of 
them published and bound in Barcelona. A Yankee clock, which 
no hand but that of the master of the house might venture to 
wind, stood upon a table, which also contained the writing ma- 
terials and business papers, this room also being used as the 
office for the transaction of the business of the several hacien- 
das of which Seiior Montealegre is the owner. Numerous col- 
ored engravings hung around the neatly-papered walls, and near 
the door was suspended a representation of Rubens's Crucifix- 
ion in life-size, and which my host said was executed in Guate- 
mala ; the coloring was very creditable, and would have created 
remark in any part of the world. Across the room was sus- 
pended the universal hammock of pita^ fabricated of stained 
eords artfully interwoven, and forming the arm-chair or loung- 
ing-place, to which the stranger is courteously invited as a mark 
of respect. The tidily-swept floors, and the neatness displayed 
throughout the establishment, betrayed the hand of woman, 
without whose aid the best ordered household will fall into dis- 
order. 

Seiior Montealegre at this time was counted the wealthiest 
man in Chinandega, and during our stay at his house we had 
an opportunity of observing the arbitrary method pursued by 
the fluctuating government of the state to raise money in sup- 
port of the revolutions. The day after our arrival, the house 
was surrounded by the troops of the Revolutionists, who fero- 
ciously excluded the family from holding any intercourse with 
the outer world until the sum of five thousand dollars was con- 
tributed toward supporting the new administration. On the 
same evening the sum was paid, and I was assured that this was 
the fourth successful attempt of the kind since the commence- 
ment of the war. Several other wealthy families had been as- 
sessed according to their supposed means, and all looked forward 
with gloomy forebodings to the future. My host believed that 
the present revolution would completely ruin him. Only the 
property of foreign residents was respected, or that placed under 
the protection of the French, English, or American consular 



DON MAKIANO'S FAMILY, 69 

flags. For this reason, Don Mariano had been dispatched to 
San Francisco, with the view of alienating himself to the United 
States, and thus preserving a tithe of the family possessions. 
Even this expedient had failed, and there seemed no hope but in 
the success of either party, which would put an end for the time 
to the war. 

With such unjust and summary methods of taxation, there is 
little to wonder at in the constant fear entertained by the people 
of the chieftains, political and military, whose intrigues and dis- 
sensions have deluged the land with blood, and destroyed all 
semblance of industrial pursuits. Nevertheless, the old gentle- 
man was a sturdy and uncompromising Liberal, whose recollec- 
tion dated back to the quiet days of the Spanish rule, when, 
under the viceroyalty of Guatemala, the nation had at least en- 
joyed commercial security, and feared no enemies but those who 
threatened the mother country beyond the limits of Central 
America. He referred to the days of Morazan, whom he remem- 
bered with enthusiastic pleasure, and his fine features lighted 
up as he recalled the stirring wars of 1839-40. Seiior Monte- 
alegre was the first veritable specimen of a Central American 
hacendador that I had met in the country. 

At night the family collected, according to custom, in the libra- 
ry, where I recounted to the old man the news from California 
and of the European war, of which he had not heard for some 
months. A cautiously-worded remark led me to believe that 
my host was strongly in favor of the Russian cause, though he 
seemed yet to entertain the habitual respect, if not fear, of the 
English name, prompting him to confine to a hint any opinions 
he might entertain against them. This, however, may have been 
his habitual manner of expressing himself. A room was finally 
shown me, containing a bed with the luxury of clean sheets. 
As I straightened myself out with that sensation of extreme 
comfort they only can appreciate who have long been deprived 
of them, I wondered when I should again enjoy the same pleas- 
ure ; for all agreed that, after leaving the well-settled district of 
Nicaragua, I might bid adieu to the common comforts of life. I 
found eventually, however, that the Central Americans are gen- 
erally quite ignorant of the country beyond their native state. 
I had hardly composed myself to sleep, after blowing out my 



70 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

candle, when the muttering of distant thunder and the blue 
gleam of lightning through the chinks of the door announced 
the approach of one of the sudden violent storms -which mark 
the breaking up of the rainy season. Soon the pattering of 
warning drops was followed by a deluge of water, producing a 
deafening noise upon the roof, while the broad lightning-sheets, 
illumining the sky from horizon to zenith, seemed to hiss with 
fiery tongues through the grated windows. The sudden blaze 
was succeeded by the blackest darkness, and followed by such 
tremendous peals of thunder as seemed to be tumbling about 
our ears the peaks of the surrounding volcanoes. I felt certain 
that some building near by had been struck with lightning, 
which on the following day proved to be the case ; this, how- 
ever, is of frequent occurrence. 

The Mcaraguans are generally early to bed and early risers, 
a habit to be applauded, as it enables them to enjoy the delight- 
ful cool of the morning, when the greater part of the day's house- 
hold labor is performed. When I awoke I found Mariano mov- 
ing silently about my room, and, perceiving that I was awake, he 
suggested a bath in a brook near by, which he said he had used 
from his infancy. The crowing of cocks, barking of dogs, add- 
ed to the loud voice of the senora, should have aroused me an 
hour before ; but, springing out of bed, and throwing on a few 
clothes, I joined my good-natured friend, and together we issued 
from the house. A more glorious morning never graced the 
earth. The streets, washed perfectly clean with the deluge of 
the night, seemed as if recently swept by the hand of some tidy 
housewife. The garden foliage, peeping in verdant luxuriance 
over the high walls, was yet dripping with millions of sparkling 
rain-drops, glittering in the slant rays of the sun. The air was 
fresh and invigorating, and so cool that I could scarcely believe 
myself between the tropics. To the northward, and apparently 
rising in silent majesty over the verdure-clad plain around us, 
towered the volcano of El Viejo, its lofty head reared against a 
cloudless sky, and glowing with the variety of shades of green 
packed in dense masses along its steep declivities. The town 
was already astir, and a few minutes' brisk walking brought us 
to the spring, from time immemorial the bathing-place of the 
Chinandeguenses. 



"FOREIGN SCRUPLES." 71 

A difficulty, however, presented itself, wliicli, to my unsophis- 
ticated mind, seemed an insuperable one. The stream, spreading 
itself out into a deep, clear basin, some twelve yards wide, again 
formed a washing brook below, and among the rocks were sta- 
tioned a crowd of lavadoras, old and young, who seemed to have 
possession of the premises. I hinted my objection to Mariano, 
but with a quiet smile he proceeded to undress and plunge in, 
followed by half a dozen new-comers, with as much unconcern 
as they would have exhibited in the midst of a forest. The pro- 
ceeding created no sensation among the soap and water congre- 
gation below, and at last, yielding to the temptation of cool, 
clear water, I was soon breasting the tiny waves created by the 
current. Modesty in these respects meets with little apprecia- 
tion in Central America, though the refusal of a stranger to bathe 
after the custom of the country is generally regarded as a queer 
fashion he has brought with him from abroad, and which time 
will gradually show him the folly of. 

On our return, we found the table spread for breakfast in the 
great corridor. The repast consisted of hot tortillas^ biscuit, 
butter, and cheese, stewed meat, beans, cocoa, and milk. A 
graceful little Indian girl, with large hazel eyes, and hands and 
arms which the most aristocratic lady might have envied, wait- 
ed upon us, and nimbly performed the bidding of Mariano, who, 
I found, was master of the establishment, being the oldest son. 
The bare feet of our dusky Hebe pattered over the tiled pave- 
ment, and, when breakfast was over, she brought us a basket of 
delicious fruits and a bundle of cigarros, I threw myself back 
in the great hammock with a sensation of absolute enjoyment, 
and, gazing out into the dreamy prospect of waving green, the 
view bounded by the blue cone of some distant volcano, or the 
white walls of a hacienda half hidden in its own prodigality of 
verdure, resigned myself to the fascination of the hour, content 
in all but that dear ones far away might not share with me the 
matchless beauties of the scene. 



72 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Chinandega. — Churches. — Dwellings. — Female Beauty. — Dress. — Smoking Ci- 
garros. — Religion. — Ceremonies. — Amusements. — Evening Paseo. — ^Night. — 
The Tienda. — Trade. — Education. — Start for Leon. — The Road. — Chichigal- 
pa. — Tiste. — Mr. Manning. — Posultega. — La Posada. — A Nicaraguan Belle. 
— Novel method of Begging. — El Aguacero. — Hacienda de Paciente. — Drunk- 
en Soldiers. — Las Tortilleras. — Rio Quis.alhuague. — Approach to Leon. — 
Bells. — Religious Ceremony. — Dr. Livingston. — Independent Evening. 

Chinandega is counted the most thriving city of Nicaragua, 
and, though formerly much more populous than at present, con- 
tained, at the time of my visit, about twelve thousand inhabit- 
ants, the number of women, owing to causes already explained, 
predominating as four to one. The town is regularly laid out, 
the streets running at right angles, handsomely paved, and form- 
ing a convex surface, the gutter or water-course being in the 
centre of the street, and during the rainy season bearing a lux- 
uriant growth of grass, so few are the encroaching footsteps. 
Its early importance, to judge from the description of Central 
American writers, must have been considerable. It now con- 
tains five churches — La Paroquia, Calvario, San Antonio, San 
Lorenzo (unfinished), and Guadalupe. These were formerly 
richly adorned, and are said to have contained ornaments of im- 
mense value ; but the incursions of the buccaneers, and the dev- 
astating revolutions sweeping over the country since 1821, have 
caused their removal, either by violence or for their security. 
At present, the churches contain nothing beyond worthless tin- 
sel and rudely-executed paintings upon scriptural subjects. 
These edifices are of adobe, plastered and whitewashed in the 
usual Spanish style, and often with the peculiar rounded dome 
betraying the Moorish architecture. The floors are handsomely 
paved, and the interiors are kept neatly painted and cleanly. 
Images of saints and angels, gaudily attired to impress the im- 
agination of the devout, are placed in the niches. I should 
think the quiet and solemnity of these sanctuaries well calcula- 
ted to inspire devotional thoughts. They are usually dark, 



HOUSES AND FURNITUEE. 73 

spacious buildings, echoing the footfall ; and at all hours of the 
day kneeling iigures of men and women may be seen, the latter 
with the gaudy mantilla thrown like a cowl over the head, and 
the former generally neatly clad, hat in hand, sin zapatos, and 
resting upon a handkerchief spread on the pavement. All dis- 
tinctions of class are banished in the Church, and the shriveled, 
blear-eyed beggar kneels in close proximity to the pale and aris- 
tocratic seiiorita of the best blood in Chinandega. The city 
seems to have suffered less from the frequent wars than any 
other in the state. The houses are seldom of more than one 
story, not so much because of the fear of earthquakes as from 
the superior coolness of a low-built residence, the dislike of ex- 
isting near a roof, and, lastly — and which I believe to be the pre- 
vailing reason — because their aiitepasados, or ancestors, lived in 
houses of similar architecture. The dwellings do not differ ma- 
terially from those of Rivas, but are usually in better repair, 
larger, and of handsomer construction. The interior is furnish- 
ed scantily with rather uncomfortable angular furniture, placed 
about the room as though against the wishes of the occupants, 
and, in fact, tables are not in use for other purposes than to 
serve the family repasts, or — very rarely — to write upon ; and 
among the ladies I found even the chair only a matter of con- 
ventionality to be used in company, the senorita infinitely pre- 
ferring a seat on the floor or a comfortable lounge in the family 
hammock, which is suspended across the room in the dwellings 
of all classes. Religious pictures, a bed — sometimes a foreign 
portable iron one — and commonly a number of Mexican trunks, 
elaborately ornamented with brass nails and the owners' initials, 
complete the furniture of each room. The houses, however, are 
admirably adapted to the climate, and the pedestrian enters 
their dark, cool shelter with an inward '■'■ gracias a Dios /" from 
the broiling heat of the street, augmented by the universal glist- 
ening white walls, reflecting the rays of the sun with painful 
force. 

The dwelling usually forms two or more sides of a hollow 
square called the jpatio, commonly communicating with the 
street by a paved side entrance capable of admitting a horse- 
man or caraton and oxen ; and here the produce from the haci- 
enda, or any articles or goods whatever belonging to the family, 



74 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

are bestowed. The corridor, extending around the interior of 
the house, is generally raised a few feet above the yard, and is 
paved with large flag-stones. The houses, walls, and all build- 
ings attached, are roofed with tiles, in all respects better adapt- 
ed to the climate than shingles or slate. A store-room and 
other household apartments lead oif from the corridor. Many 
of the buildings have large flower-gardens attached, separated 
from the street by a lofty wall, and crammed with the greenest 
shrubbery, among which may be always noted the mango-tree 
in blossom or loaded with fruit the entire year, their dark limbs 
creeping among and supporting the load of leaves, while at the 
taper ends bunches of this luscious fruit offer themselves to the 
passer-by. 

Although I was disappointed in my expectations of female 
beauty among the Mcaraguans, yet, during my stay in -Chinan- 
dega and Leon, I met very many instances of the grace and ele- 
gance generally attributed to the Spanish seiiorita. The habit 
of intermarrying practiced by whites, Indians, mestizos, and even 
negroes, has done much to deteriorate female beauty in Central 
America, and this I found to be particularly the case in Hon- 
duras ; but throughout that republic, as well as in Nicaragua, I 
often saw faces and forms which would have created "a sensa- 
tion" in the most elegant assemblage. The amalgamation has 
not been universal ; and while by far the largest number are 
found only tinged with a dash of Indian or negro blood, the 
stranger may meet at every hour with pure Castilian beauties, 
whose fine forms, lady-like manners, black, languishing eyes, 
and expressive faces, fully warrant the encomiums lavished upon 
them. , The features are almost, without exception, good, and 
where there has been no mixture of races in the ancestry, even 
classic, preserving much of the haughty, distingue air of the 
Castilian. The complexions, always pale (a rosy ISTew England 
cheek is a phenomenon only known from hearsay), are of that 
rich and classic hue generally attractive in youth when accom- 
panied by finely-chiseled features, but turning into the waxy look 
in advanced years. In no country that I have visited does age 
follow so closely upon womanhood, nor in any do the charms 
of youth more quickly fade. The climate leaves none of the 
traces of healthy, venerable old age ; and with few exceptions in 



LADIES AND THEIR FASHIONS. 75 

the lowlands of Nicaragua, to be old is to be ugly. In both 
sexes, however, I have always observed among all classes the 
traces of that native courtesy and grace of manner always aton- 
ing for the lack of personal charms. The politeness of the ed- 
ucated classes amounts to formality, and in the more secluded 
sections of Honduras this is observed to such a painful degree 
as to become ahuost ridiculous. The young men are generally 
reserved, listless, and of a sallow complexion ; nearly all of them 
are of slender form, and dress after the American and European 
fashion. 

Bright colors are preferred for dresses by the ladies, and at 
a fiesta, or on Sunday at mass, the combination of rainbow 
hues, regardless of taste, would create a smile in a Northern 
belle. The shawls are particularly gaudy. But the effect is 
not unpleasing in a large congregation, with a battery of fine 
features and flashing eyes as a relief to the gay colors. It is a 
mistaken idea, however, that the Spanish beauty generally af- 
fects finery. Except at public assemblages she dresses in black, 
as an ofifset to the complexion, and the studied arrangement of 
jet ornaments upon the arms and around the neck betrays an 
appreciation of the efiects of contrast. Dulces, or confectionery, 
made fi'om the sugar of the country, is in great demand among 
the ladies, who eat them at all hours of the day ; with these, 
the everlasting abanico, the jpaseo at sunset, and an evening call, 
perhaps, across the Plaza, constitute the amusement, if not the 
occupation, of the Mcaraguan lady, unless when an approaching 
funcion urges to the preparation of some extra finery. I 
should also add the rolling of paper cigars, called cigarros, in 
distinction to puros, the name given par excellence to the cigar 
proper. These are smoked every where and upon all occasions. 
Tou enter the house of a gentleman, and he hastens to ofifer you 
the hammock and a cigarro. It is held between the lips of the 
padre a moment before entering the church ; it is the symbol 
of friendship extended to a new acquaintance : a lady, desirous 
of doing the amiable to the stranger, profiers him a cigarro ; 
you call upon the president, and, before entering into the com- 
pliments of the day, he selects a cigarro from his tabaquera, and 
politely presents it ; your servant on the road deliberately rolls 
up a cigarro, and, striking fire with his eslahon, proffers it to 



76 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURA.S. 

you with stoical silence, as a matter of course ; and, in a word, 
in all grades of society, at all times, in all places, this social lit- 
tle emblem of comfort is exchanged ; and I verily believe, such 
is the force of habit, that a negotiation opened with this prelim- 
inary is considered as already half completed. 

The Catholic religion reigns supreme in Nicaragua and 
throughout Central America. So deeply rooted is the power 
of the Church and priesthood, that it forms the basis upon which 
all extraordinary political movements are made — the priests in 
some way always influencing. It is a special clause in most 
of the constitutions of the various republics that the Roman 
Catholic religion shall be that of the people, to the exclusion of 
all others ; and attempts hitherto made in negotiations for settle- 
ments on the coast, to erect and worship in other churches than 
those of the established faith, have ever met with the united op- 
position of all political parties. This is somewhat owing to the 
religious veneration instilled into the minds of the people, but 
mainly to the fact that the legislative bodies are mostly com- 
posed of lawyers or licenciados educated in the Catholic uni- 
versities of Guatemala or Costa Rica, or, as is often the case, 
by the priests themselves. 

The exaggerated forms with which the padres of the sixteenth 
century introduced Catholicism into Guatemala are yet witness- 
ed, and such ceremonies as " the hanging of Judas," plastering 
ashes upon the forehead on dia cenizas or Ash- Wednesday, car- 
rying effigies of the Virgin and saints through the streets in pub- 
lic procession, are of frequent occurrence throughout the coun- 
try. The women, however, are the most faithful to the behests 
of the Church, and few venture to miss the misa or fail to attend 
the morning service. The public amusements are also so art- 
fully interwoven with all religious ceremonies that they have 
become inseparable, so that the celebration of certain saints' 
days, embracing the observance of special Church rites, is at- 
tended with cock-fighting, bull-fights, music, feasting, fireworks, 
and dancing. It may thus be readily seen, where the only pub- 
lic pleasures of the people are made the means of cementing 
their allegiance to the Catholic faith, it becomes a powerful in- 
strument in the hands of the priesthood, aided by the inborn 
superstitions of the race and by the monopoly of education 



RELIGIOUS PROCESSIONS. 77^ 

possessed by the padres or those instructed under their direct 
influence. 

Religious processions are viewed with respectful veneration 
by the populace. The padre, walking under the sacred canopy 
held over his head by four attendants, is preceded by a bell- 
ringer, and the music of violins and bass-viols, which accompa- 
ny the voice of the priest and the choristers. The numerous 
ornaments and symbols of the Church are carried in the ranks. 
The spectacle, even to an unbeliever, is an imposing one, and I 
never failed to show my respect to the religious forms of the 
country by lifting my hat as it moved slowly by ; but the 
broadest hints of my native companions could never bring me 
to my knees, though in all directions, and often for several ad- 
jacent streets, wherever the solemn chant of the singers could 
penetrate, the people were kneeling and devoutly crossing them- 
selves as the clangor of a dozen deep-mouthed bells mingled 
their noise with the scene. The whole performance seemed to 
me the relic of a semi-barbarous age, and yet we find here the 
same ceremonies performed at which the mail-cased warriors of 
Alvarado and Cortez were wont to doff their plumed helmets. 
The remark is true, that Central America has been at a " stand- 
still" since the Conquest ; indeed, many of the primitive habits 
of the old conquerors still exist. 

Chinandega, usually one of the gayest towns of Nicaragua, 
presented but a sad spectacle during this revolution. All gay- 
ety had ceased, as from general consent. The reunions, which 
at times enable the stranger to form an idea of the social and 
domestic qualities of the people, were now unknown ; the place 
was deserted by its principal residents, who had retired to their 
haciendas to escape assessment, while those of the lower class- 
es who could leave shunned the town to avoid impressment into 
the army. My acquaintances often regretted the triste condi- 
tion of affairs, and assured me I viewed the town to disad- 
vantage. 

In the evening, however, at the dullest season, the observer 
may obtain a glance at the out-door customs of the people. At 
this hour the chubasco has passed away, leaving a tumble of 
purple and golden clouds in the western horizon. The shrub- 
bery and streets are yet wet with the rain, glistening in myriad 



78 EXPLORATIONS m HONDURAS. 

diamond drops from palm and plantain trees. The houses, 
rivaling each other in their hues of red, blue, or yellow, accord- 
ing to the taste of the owner, impart a lively character to the 
scene. The streets, through the heat of the day monopolized 
by loaded mules or naked children, disputing with the hogs the 
possession of some coveted nook in which to snooze, now pre- 
sent a more animated picture. At yonder corner a handsomely- 
mounted cavalier has just reined in his long-tailed, heavily-bit- 
ted stud. That is Senor Y e, a well-known and respected 

gentleman, who is now following his immemorial custom of a 
jpaseo a caballo in the cool of the evening. His silver-mount- 
ed saddle and head-stall, the elaborately wrought reins and 
jingling spurs, with the splendid slashed serajpe thrown negli- 
gently over the left shoulder, display the man of taste. He has 
all the Spaniard's pride in owning handsome horse -accoutre- 
ments. He observes our notice, and courteously raises his bea- 
ver, at the same time accidentally touching his well-trained 
steed, who starts forward, rears and backs, to the evident satis- 
faction of his master ; but having recently left California, where 
a five years' residence has shown me some of the finest horse- 
manship in the world, the feat is rather stale. 

Now he is joined by several others, equally well mounted and 
equipped, and a general raising of sombreros to a sallow-visaged 
belle shows they are not wanting in gallantry. A minute of 
grave converse, and the whole party are off at a rapid amble, 
the animals being broken into that peculiar pace, through which 
they have acquired the name of andadoras or rackers. Nu- 
merous parties are now venturing out of the shady houses, and 
sauntering lazily down the streets with the waddling gait never 
seen out of the region of Spaniards and Italians or their de- 
scendants, now stopping to chat a moment with an acquaintance, 
bent, like themselves, on learning the gossip of the day, or ex- 
changing the revolutionary news with some decrepit viejo 
through the grated bars of the street window. Groups of pot- 
bellied little children, some boasting a shirt and others in a state 
of nudity, their skins shining like polished mahogany, are gam- 
boling in the calle^ while a bevy of straight, well-formed women 
are lighting their cigarros and leisurely gossiping with the mis- 
tress of the posada. Suddenly the hour of oracion is tolled from 



THE AFTERNOON " PASEO."— TIENDAS. 79 

the tower of la Paroquia. In an instant every voice is hushed; 
the children cease their frolicking as by instinct ; a sudden si- 
lence succeeds the temporary bustle, and the moving of lips 
with the rapid and mechanical muttering of set forms of prayer, 
are heard from among the uncovered groups. A short pause, 
and the bells peal out a joyful clang ; the conversation and 
sports are renewed where they had broken off: night approach- 
es ; one after another the doors and windows are closed and bar- 
red, the streets become deserted, the patrol, with lanterns and 
muskets, march past to the tap of drum, and at nine o'clock si- 
lence reigns over the city, save where, at intervals, the loud cry 
of " Alerto !" of the sentinels reminds us that, amid all the ru- 
ral splendor with which Nature has adorned Nicaragua, her sons 
seem laboring to annul the blessings dispensed by Providence. 
The solemn peal of the church clock tolls the hour of ten, and 
as the forked lightnings, which at intervals play in fitful flash- 
es around the peak of the volcano, mingled with the low mutter- 
ing of distant thunder, announce the approach of the usual noc- 
turnal storm, I close and bar my door, and am soon in the em- 
brace of the drowsy god. 

A very commendable custom in Nicaragua, as in all Central 
America, is that of keeping a small shop in the dwelling — the 
tienda, as it is called — in which the lady of the house usually 
presides. In this manner many a family, reduced by the revo- 
lutions, is partly supported. This has become fashionable from 
necessity, and the prettiest girls of the country may often be 
found behind the counters of these little shops dispensing all the 
common articles of life. The tienda is frequently the scene of 
a love-match, and here, it is said, more scandal and news is re- 
tailed than at any other point. The tienda, in fact, is the " on 
'change" of all classes, and answers for a news exchange, as the 
country grocery in the United States serves for the discussion 
of the political items of the day. From causes above explained, 
it happens that the shop-keepers are mostly women or old men, 
though there are numerous instances where large retail business 
is done by importing firms. 

Up to 1840, the greater part of the manufactured goods con- 
sumed in Nicaragua was imported fi-ora England, which for thir- 
ty years has enjoyed a monopoly of this lucrative trade. But, 



80 EXPLORATIONS m HONDURAS. 

in addition to the Germafns and Italians, who have recently be- 
come powerful rivals in this business, the trade from California 
has grown into importance, considerable amounts of manufac- 
tured goods and provisions being carried to Central America bj 
a few vessels employed in the trade. 

Having letters of introduction to various gentlemen of Leon, 
I availed myself of the offer of my hospitable entertainer to 
make use of his favorite macho, just brought in from a neigh- 
boring hacienda. The seiiora, with the aid of two or three 
bustling girls, busied herself on the morning of my departure in 
preparing some little dainties for the road, and, as a great favor, 
ordered her own servant, Pablo, to mount a stout little mule 
and accompany me. My two companions, who had long since 
arrived from Realejo and installed themselves in the house, pre- 
ferred to remain. On a bright, fresh morning, with my new 
servant, I mounted at the door, and in a few minutes had am- 
bled out of the harrios of the town, the open road to Leon be- 
fore us. The distance is some twenty miles, over an almost 
perfect plain, though somewhat undulating as you approach 
the capital. Traveling in Central America, in the sierras as 
well as the low country, is done in the cool of the morning. 
The seiiora hastened me off by 8 o'clock, asserting even then 
that I should be obliged to stop on the road either to avoid the 
aguacero or to escape the fierce rays of the sun. My servant 
was a native of Leon, and was strongly attached to his native 
place. 

" Every thing," said he, " is to be found in Leon, senor. Es 
una ciudad hermosa, aunque en el dia muy triste." 

The ancient feud between Leon and Granada existed still in 
the mind of my companion, who snapped his fingers derisively 
at the idea of los Granadinos retaining possession of the city an- 
other month against the assaults of his townsmen who were then 
besieging it. About a mile out of the town, he begged I would 
allow him to stop at a small hacienda on the road, where he had 
recently made an important purchase ; so, turning into a pic- 
turesque, leaf-embowered passage leading from the main road, 
we came to a small house, where Pablo seemed to possess no 
little influence. His property proved to be a tough-looking 
game-cock, which he was pampering for some approaching feast- 



THE BRITISH CONSUL. gl 

day. After taking an affectionate, sidelong survey of his cham- 
pion, he rchictantly turned again into the highway. The road 
between Chinandega and Leon is like that already described 
from Realejo. A ride of about nine miles brought us to the lit- 
tle town of Chichigalpa, containing about two thousand inhab- 
itants. Here is situated one of the oldest churches in the state. 
The place wore the same silent, deserted aspect of the other 
towns, and, with the exception of a few staring children, naked 
and motionless, there appeared no sign of life as we entered. 
The dwellings are of adobe, unplastered, irregularly built, and 
without the slightest pretension to symmetry. 

We proceeded to the best looking house in the principal street, 
where we dismounted, and entering, found a number of women 
spinning and rolling cigarros. They easily fell into conversa- 
tion, and asked me if I was el ministro. The U. S. govern- 
ment had dispatched so many of these honorable emissaries to 
Nicaragua that every American is regarded as occupying some 
official capacity. A calabash of tiste was quickly made, and, 
swinging in the comfortable hammock, I was fast forgetting the 
admonition of Sefiora Montealegre, when Pablo hinted that we 
had yet seine leagues before us ; so, responding to the earnest 
" adios" of the Chichigalpa gossips, we pursued our journey 
eastward. The road — one of the finest in Nicaragua — is w^ide 
and even, and lined with stately trees, under whose grateful 
shade the traveler passes for the greater part of the way. At 
this season, however, deep pools of water had collected, obliging 
the caratones to deviate from the main road and penetrate the 
thickets on either hand. 

Half a mile beyond the town I perceived a stout, jolly-looking 
gentleman approaching, mounted on a strong mule. I judged 
rightly, from the description given me, that this must be the En- 
glish consul, Mr. Thomas Manning, to whom I had letters of 
introduction. Consequently I accosted him, and we were soon 
exchanging the news. He was en route for Realejo, and in a 
few words gave me the details of the war, and the probable re- 
sults of the Eevolution. Mr. Manning has been a resident of 
Nicaragua for many years, and has grown rich by means of the 
advantageous commercial operations offered in the state while his 
countrymen monopolized its trade. He pointed to a dark blue 

F 



82 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

horizon of clouds in the south, and advised me to remain over 
night in the village of Posultega, a few miles beyond ; then plac- 
ing his house in Leon at my disposal, he pursued his way. An- 
other half hour brought us to the village, and Pablo led the way 
to a,posada, where, alighting, I ordered more tiste, the only drink, 
save aguardiente, to be obtained on the road. 

Pablo hinted, after I had dismounted, that the belle of Posul- 
tega lived in the, j)Osada, and, on entering, I found three prettily- 
dressed girls, one swinging in the hammock, which occupation 
she did not cease as we entered, except to turn her face toward 
me and say, ^^Adios, caballero P and the other two seated at the 
back door, examining each other's heads. The mother, a garru- 
lous, withered old woman, glanced hastily at her little brood, 
and, satisfied with their appearance, bid me welcome, and in- 
quired the news from Chinandega. I soon found that the nymph 
of the hammock was the belle referred to, and, as far as I could 
judge through the darkness, she made the nearest approach to 
beauty I had yet seen in the country : fine teeth, dark, clus- 
tering hair tastefully arranged, a rich olive complexion, faultless 
form, large, lustrous eyes, and pretty hands and feet. Pablo 
gazed in admiration, and I afterward found that the young Le- 
onese was one of half a dozen suitors for her hand. The old 
woman observed my attention to the girl, and, with an air of 
pride, asked, 

" Que tal leparece d Yd. mi ninaf" 

I of course was not sparing in my praise, and, in answer to 
the inquiries of the girls, attempted to give them some idea of 
the belles of my own country. To these unsophisticated beau- 
ties the arts of the toilet and the various appliances of fashion- 
able life were unknown, and they listened with unfeigned won- 
der to my account of the stay-lacing and tight-boot tortures of 
gay New York. 

Before my departure the party was joined by a grizzly old 
native, who offered to accompany me on my road, and on my 
declining his services he asked me for a real in compensation for 
his kind wishes. I thought this a model method of begging, 
but, being new in the country, preferred to hand the old fellow 
the coin, which he received with an audible prayer that "Z^ios" 
would Jceep step with tne for my kindness. I have no doubt 



A VISIT FROM "THE MILITARY." 83 

he laughed at me for an American heretic a moment after my 
departure ; however, I was willing to buy the incident for the 
low price of one real. As I mounted at the door, the old wom- 
an told me her name was Benita Ramierez, and that she had 
long since learned to love los Americanos. I made allowance 
for the education the family had received in then- contact with 
passengers in 1851. No people in the world learn sooner than 
the Nicaraguans the value of a dollar, and to pass at once from 
unsophisticated hospitality to the most exacting meanness ; but 
this applies particularly to that class who have become familiar 
with Americans in the vicinity of the transit routes. The dark- 
eyed Luisa followed me to the door, and no doubt assured her- 
self of having made one more conquest. One of the oldest 
churches in Nicaragua (La Quisalqueca) is now in ruins in Po- 
sultega. 

A few minutes after leaving Posultega, the storm, which for 
the last two hours had been threatening in the horizon, came 
pouring down upon us. Pablo said there were no more houses 
for two leagues on the road, but he knew of a small hacienda to 
the southward, approached by a path into which we speedily 
turned, but did not escape being drenched through with a mer- 
ciless rain. By the time we had reached the hacienda of Pa- 
ciente, the air was a falling sheet of water. We spurred into 
the yard and under a sort of shed, where three or four women 
were making tortillas and grinding mais. They welcomed us 
heartily to their fire. For an hour there seemed no cessation 
to the rain, which was, as usual, accompanied by loud thunder- 
claps and vivid lightning. The heaviest and most frequent 
rains fall in Nicaragua during the months of August and Sep- 
tember. 

Shortly after our arrival, a party of soldiers, under the com- 
mand of a fat captain, stopped at the hacienda. They made a 
company of about twenty, and wore the usual uniform of white 
with a narrow red stripe on the legs. Drunken, wet, insolent, 
and with bedraggled finery, they presented a sorry picture. The 
captain whispered to one of the women, and a moment after- 
ward approached me and asked the hour. Not caring to take 
out my watch in the presence of the crowd, I replied as brief- 
ly as possible, but he insisted on satisfying himself. I threw 



84 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

back mj poncho enough for him to see a large-sized revolver 
slung at my hip, and which I usually endeavored to conceal. 
The fellow, who was half drunk, regarded it fixedly for a mo- 
ment, and then asked, '■'-Tienes jpasaporteV I showed him a 
paper given me by the commandante of Chinandega, which 
seemed to satisfy him ; for, after requesting a light from my ci- 
gar, he mounted, and the whole party pursued their way in the 
rain, yelling as they wheeled around the old adobe, and laughing 
with drunken phrensy. Pablo exchanged glances with the wom- 
en, and he assured me that but for the sight of my pistol I would 
have been robbed. The soldiers were on their way to the cuar- 
tel of Realejo. Several robberies had been recently committed 
on the road. I afterward learned that the captain believed me 
to be a Guatemalan spy. 

The women now proceeded with their occupation of making 
tortillas, and an interesting occupation it is. The corn is mix- 
ed with a quantity of ley, and boiled for a few minutes over a 
slow fire. It is then washed, and placed in a pile upon a hollow 
stone, resembling a small, old-fashioned stool. The corn heap- 
ed up at one end has the consistency of boiled hominy. A 
handful is scraped into the hollow part of the machine, and 
mashed with a sort of pestle, also of stone. The operation of 
grinding is somewhat like that of rolling out pie-crust. The 
paste is next spatted into the proper thinness, and baked quick- 
ly on a piece of sheet iron or stone. When hot they are very 
palatable, and in traveling through the country I invariably pre- 
ferred them to the wheaten bread, which is always ill-made and 
heavy. The tortilla {^'•jpan del pais'"') is found upon every ta- 
ble, among all classes, and constitutes, with frijoles, the princi- 
pal food of the poor throughout Central America. The slow 
process of grinding the corn practiced by the women has led 
several foreigners to introduce Indian corn-meal, particularly in 
haciendas at harvest-time, where the laborers are obliged to await 
the tardy movements of las tortilleras. But, either from preju- 
dice or unwillingness to deviate from established customs, the 
meal has been every v/here discarded, and the women stoutly 
declare it impossible to make tortillas in any other than by the 
ancient method. The picture is not an uninteresting one, to see 
a well-formed girl, with bare arms, and long, luxuriant hair. 



HACIENDA DE PACIENTE. 



85 




thrown carelessly back 
from her face, leaning 
over her work, and at in- 
tervals resting from the 
labor to gossip with her 
garrulous companions, or 
give the loud, hearty laugh 
which distinguishes the 
Central American women 
for their hilarity and good 
nature. 

The scenery around 
Paciente is like that of 
every hacienda on the 
great plain of Leon, the 
immediate view bounded 
by walls of the greenest 
verdure, vocal with the 
song of birds, and span- 
gled with gorgeous flow- 
ers. It is only in contem- 
plation of these wondrous 
beauties of nature that 
the traveler can forget 
the squalid ignorance 
around him ; a debased 
and decadent race, aflford- 
ing the more striking con- 
trast to the luxuriance of 
the wide-spreading land- 
scape, in which seem con- 
centrated all the choicest 
gifts of Providence. The 
rain still poured, and still 
the monotonous rubbing 
of the ^iedra de moler 
mingled with its falling. 
The yard had become a 
hissing pond, through 



86 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

which the girls paddled from house to shed, lifting their skirts, 
and exhibiting an amusing disregard of mud and wet. At last, 
tired of the monotony of the scene, and the dull, leaden sky- 
overhead seeming to offer no reasonable promise of revealing 
a glimpse of blue, I ordered Pablo to saddle the animals, and, 
despite his warnings of the danger of fever, we splashed out of 
the yard. 

Wrapped in vaj j)onGho, I slowly followed Pablo along a road 
now almost impassable with mud. Presently we came to three 
wooden crosses erected on the wayside, which my companion 
pointed out as marking the graves of as many robbers, who had 
been killed a few years before by a party of gentlemen from 
Leon, headed by Don Francisco Dias Zapato, better known as 
"Chico Dias." Descending a steep declivity, we came to the 
Eiver Quisalhuague, rising a little above the town of Telica, about 
eight miles north of Leon. It was now swollen and turbid, and 
rushed violently among the rocks forming its bed. We forded 
it about two hundred yards below where we struck it, and rising 
the opposite bank met a boy, apparently not above six years of 
age, carrying a load of fagots upon his head, which he put 
upon the ground in order to make a low bow to me as I passed. 
His costume consisted of a tattered shirt and a string of glass 
beads around his neck. He stood and gazed after me as I pass- 
ed, and, observing me look back, shouted, '■'■Givy me dime!'''' 
which accounted for his politeness. 

We now began to approach Leon, its proximity being indi- 
cated by the occasional country people we met trudging silently 
toward the city. The road for a league was lined with trim 
fences of cactus and often of wood, inclosing cane and other 
plantations, interspersed with the brightest foliage. Flocks of 
paroquets fluttered among the trees, while at intervals along the 
road stood the solitary white crane, awaiting the approach of his 
crawling prey. The rain had at last ceased, and with the rays 
of the sinking sun the country for miles around glowed like 
some overwrought sunset scene found depicted in artists' stu- 
dios as fancy paintings. In no part of the world that I have vis- 
ited have I witnessed the gorgeous sunsets presented in Central 
America. There seems to be a quahty in the atmosphere im- 
parting a clear and brilliant tone to the evening landscape, some- 



APPEOACII TO LEON. 87 




APPROACH TO LEON. 



times witnessed in the mountains of California, but not to my 
knowledge elsewhere. The great plain over which we had trav- 
eled since morning is reckoned the most valuable agricultural 
land of the state. Not a twentieth part of it is under cultiva- 
tion, and its capabilities for producing all the tropical staples 
can scarcely be over-estimated, while by its present owners it 
seems but the arena for endless strife and bloodshed. As. we 
ascended a small eminence on the road, the towers of the church 
at Subtiaba, and the cathedral at Leon, overlooking the sur- 
rounding woods, reflected the beams of the setting sun. De- 
scending again, we came suddenly upon several girls splashing 
in a small stream, who disappeared like turtles as we approach- 
ed, leaving the head above water. The river wound to the left, 
and after crossing it we overtook a line of aguadoras, or water- 
bearers, entering the city with the night's supply. Tired with 
my ride, I urged my mule forward, and entered through the 
barrios the long paved street leading eastward toward the Pla- 
za. A white-haired old gentleman, evidently just arisen from 
his siesta, directed me to the house of Dr. Livingston. As we 
entered the Plaza, the sound of bells with the peculiar Spanish 
tone brought like a flash to my memory the scenes of Old 
Spain and the Havana. 

The striking of the Spanish bells differs entirely from that of 
all others. At the sound of their mellow chime, it takes but a 



88 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

slight tincture of romance to bring up in imagination the haugh- 
ty mail-clad cavaliers of the sixteenth century, bj whose energy 
and courage these regions were conquered and peopled. Amid 
these evidences of their race, apparently paling before the ad- 
vance of civilization, the recollections of legendary lores in old 
chivalric books, devoured years back with schoolboy eager- 
ness, come crowding up more vividly in view of these time- 
worn towers rising in quaint and rusty architecture above the 
churches. 

Turning an abrupt corner, the grand Plaza was before me, 
and standing in its centre the great Cathedral of San Pedro, 
the corner-stone of which was laid in 1706. It was thirty-sev- 
en years in building, and is justly considered one of the strong- 
est and most splendid buildings in America. A religious cere- 
mony, accompanied with music and the usual amount of bare- 
headed padres, was going on in front of one of the churches, and 
far and near the sidewalks and door-steps of the dwellings were 
covered with kneeling figures, responding fervently to the mo- 
notonous chanting of the priests. Pablo reverently uncovered 
his head, and, dismounting, knelt a moment, and again strad- 
dling his mule, passed on, fully satisfied with his transient de- 
votions. Following the universal custom, I raised my hat as I 
passed the holy group. Loud strains of church music filled the 
air, mingled with the voices of choristers and priests. As I 
gazed upon the scene, now rendered indistinct with the glim- 
mering twilight, I could not avoid, heretic as I was, a thrill of 
devotional enthusiasm. Down three long thoroughfares, and 
forming a vast circle of worshipers around the Plaza, knelt the 
veiled senorita, the blear-eyed beldame, the rough soldier, and 
the tender child, each responding devoutly to the loud-chanted 
prayer, and solemnly making the sign of the holy cross. He 
must, indeed, be an impassive spectator who can witness un- 
moved the imposing rites of the Catholic Church, clothed though 
they be with the trickery and tinsel with which the priesthood 
love to catch the eye of the masses. 

I was too weary with my uncomfortable ride to think of 
much else than reaching the house of Dr. Livingston, where, 
after traversing several silent, grass-grown streets, we arrived 
and were cordially welcomed. The doctor is so often referred 



MEETING A COUNTRYMAN. 



89 




CAiLE EEAl, LEON. 



to by American travelers that I felt a growing curiosity to know 
him. We had hardly reached the door ere he approached, and, 
to my surprise, saluted me by name. It appeared that a gen- 
tleman who left Chinandega a day before me had notified him 
of my arrival. To say that I was heartily and generously en- 
tertained during my stay in Leon would be far less than the 
tribute I could wish to pay my hospitable and manly host. A 
package of letters and the latest New York and California 
newspapers absorbed his attention for a while, his latest news 
from beyond Central America dating back three months. As I 
observed his intelligent face and quick, penetrating eye, I could 
but remark that his five years' residence in Nicaragua had pro- 
duced none of those languid habits and enervation attributed to 
the foreigner living in the lowlands of Central America. Amid 
the many revolutions and consequent jealousies, he had hitherto 
escaped the ill feeling frequently manifested toward Americans, 
and I afterward found that he had more friends, and possessed 
a wider social and political influence, than any other of my coun- 
trymen in the republic. In a few minutes a bountiful supper 
was spread in the corridor, the doctor remarking that, though 
long custom had led him to adopt the hours and style of the 



90 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

country, he was sure that a Californian could not yet have for- 
gotten how to appreciate a more substantial repast. I now 
learned that the religious ceremony I had just witnessed was 
preparatory to the flight of souls into eternity expected to take 
place on the morrow, that day having been selected for the grand 
assault on Granada, to be made by the Castellon troops. The 
circumstance of its being the thirty-third anniversary of Cen- 
tral American independence was expected to impart extraordi- 
nary animation to the troops. As we conversed, the sound of 
exploding "bombas," with the loud clang of every church bell 
in the city, announced the conclusion of the formalities. 



CHAPTER V. 



Independent Day. — Leon. — Revolution of 1854. — A Texan's method of keeping 
his Men. — Leon and Granada a century and a half ago. — The Cathedral. — 
Churches. — A Visit to President Castellon. — Appearance of Government Of- 
ficers. — Ex-President Ramierez. — "Chico Dias." — Society. — LaCasa delGo- 
bierno. — A Proposition. — Patriotism. — Saddles. — Rain in Nicaragua. — De- 
parture from Leon. — :A Morning Gallop. — Superb Scenery. — Chinandega. — 
Tiste. — Fruit. — More Assessments. — An Alarm. — Cacherula. — Nicaraguan 
Women. — Preparations for Departure. — Separation of the Party. — ^Departure. 
— El Viejo. — Shooting a Monkey. — Zempisque. — The "Horrors." — A Bongo 
del Golfo. — The Patron. — Embarkation. — Estero Real. — Scenery. — "Com- 
fort." — La Playa Grande. — An Adventure. — Bay of Fonseca. 

I WAS awakened on the following morning with repeated sal- 
vos of artillery, shaking the adobe house to its foundation. It 
was the anniversary of the separation of the states from the 
mother country. One feels a curiosity in these little republics 
to observe the method of celebrating their " Independent Day." 
Here, however, there was none of the enthusiasm and universal 
rejoicing exhibited in the United States. Instead of thorough- 
fares crowded with merry children, buildings decorated with 
flags, and the thousand active demonstrations heralding the ar- 
rival of " the Fourth," I saw but an occasional church proces- 
sion winding its solemn way among kneeling gazers ; and the 
only military display, a dozen or so of soldiers attending the 
train. 

After breakfast we went to the grand Plaza, where a squad of 
noisy fellows in white uniforms were firing a cannon, which ever 



INDEPENDENT DAY IN LEON, 91 

and anon echoed among the narrow streets. We had quite for- 
gotten our proximity to the gun, and, engaged in conversation, 
had strolled within a few yards of its mouth, when a coffee-col- 
ored rascal applied the match, enveloping our little party in 
smoke, and half stunning us with the noise. The doctor gave 
them a look, to which the crowd replied with a loud " viva.'''' 

Leon in 1854, like every other Nicaraguan city, presented a 
sorry spectacle. In fact, the town is falling to decay, and every 
species of improvement has long since ceased. With the fran- 
tic revolutions which have successively swept over the country, 
the finest residences of the old Spanish families have been burn- 
ed or torn down, until now, though the first city of the republic, 
it is but the ghost of its former self. I passed through one 
street lined on either side with ruined arches and walls, the 
whole overgrown with massive verdure, and resembling the rel- 
ics of some aboriginal race. In 1823 this part of the city, com- 
prising nearly two thousand houses, was destroyed by fire. The 
gardens, formerly extending back from the streets, are now 
choked with weeds and ruins. I know of nothing sadder than 
the apparent certainty with which these people seem hunying 
themselves out of political existence. Without tracing back 
the tangle of revolutions which, since the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence in 1821, have swept through the country, I shall brief- 
ly revert to the causes and leading incidents of the last. 

In November, 1853, a general presidential election was held 
throughout Nicaragua, the candidates being Senores Fruto Cha- 
morro, formerly Minister of War and belonging to the Granada 
faction, and Francisco Castellon, a licenciado of Leon, and suc- 
cessively minister to England and France. An ancient feud has 
existed between the rival cities, in which families, intermarried, 
have become estranged, and bitter jealousies have given rise to in- 
cessant wars. The election referred to resulted in favor of Cha- 
morro, though, as the natives of Leon asserted, by fraud prac- 
ticed at the baUot-box. At the union of the Camaras, Chamor- 
ro attempted obnoxious alterations in the Constitution, of such 
a type that the suspicions of the people were aroused. It is as- 
serted that evidences of a conspiracy on the part of Castellon 
and his friends were discovered. This is vehemently denied by 
the Democrats. The times, however, were considered to demand 



92 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

rigorous measures, so Castellon and a number of his most in- 
fluential friends were banished the state. They proceeded to 
Honduras, where in a few months, with the assistance of Presi- 
dent Cabanas, of that republic, a small invading army was raised, 
and in May of the same year General Jerez landed at Realejo, 
and proclaimed Castellon in that place and at Chinandega, where, 
as well as in Leon, the population declared in his favor. 

Chamorro at once took the field, but was beaten in two bat- 
tles and driven to his native Granada, pursued by the victorious 
Castellon troops, where he fortified himself in the Plaza, and re- 
tained possession of it, despite the vigorous assaults of his be- 
siegers. The entire state, with the exception of Granada, was, 
at the time of my arrival in Leon, in the hands of the Democrats, 
and sanguine anticipations were entertained that Granada would 
be taken during the month of September. The issue involved 
in this contest, which lasted through the year 1854, was not so 
much a matter of success between the opposing leaders as the 
predominance of Liberal or Democratic principles in Nicaragua ; 
Chamorro being one of the wealthiest hacendados in the state, 
and having for his supporters the aristocratic families and the 
priesthood. Castellon had always been regarded as the people's 
man, but in the event of success he would not have remained 
long in power, being weak and vacillating, though one of the 
ablest political men in the republic. Subsequent events since 
the arrival of Walker have given a turn to afiairs little antici- 
pated by either party in the early days of the Revolution. In 
this contest Honduras espoused the cause of the Liberals, Presi- 
dent Cabanas ranking among the most illustrious leaders of that 
party. Costa Rica and San Salvador remained inactive specta- 
tors, the former covertly advocating the servile or conservative 
cause through its organ, "Za Oaceta^'' while Guatemala, openly 
in favor of Chamorro, took no active part, except to employ its 
secret agents in the theatre of war. Later, however. General 
Guardiola, with a considerable body of Guatemalans, assumed 
the Chamorro cause, and became actively engaged in the con- 
test. Such was the relative position of the Central American 
states in 1854. 

During this revolution the trade of the republic was para- 
lyzed. The few vessels entering Realejo and San Juan del Sur 



POLITICAL CONDITION OF THE STATE. 93 

hardly imparted the name of commerce, while the usual brisk 
traffic of Granada was carefully cut off by the Democratic fleets 
cruisino' in the lake. With such a condition of affairs, it is not 
surprising that a general stagnation was experienced throughout 
the state. Even the few agricultural efforts were discouraged 
by the inevitable descent made upon any half dozen laborers 
brought together upon the haciendas. The rich retired to their 
estates to avoid assessments, and the poorer classes were con- 
stantly in fear of impressment. No regard to property was 
shown. The muleteer, pursuing his avocation along the high- 
way, overtaken by the troops of either party, was deprived of 
his animals, and taken himself to the nearest cuartel and forci- 
bly enlisted. Only the property of foreigners was exempt from 
assessment. A few days before my arrival at Leon, a party 
had been sent to the hacienda of an American (a Texan) for the 
purpose of securing a body of natives collected there to grind 
cane. On learning the object of the visit, Sam gathered his 
dusky brood in an adobe house, and, taking his long rifle in 
hand, placed himself before the door. The officer in command 
arrived and demanded the men. Sam assured him that the 
first one who entered the yard would be shot. The officer ex- 
postulated; Sam remained firm, and with such a wicked look 
that the party finally returned, the captain informing Castellon 
that " these Americans were not to be trifled with," and that he 
felt sure Sam would have fired had he persisted. 

*' In that case," gravely replied the President, " you did right 
to retire. Son homhres inuy violentes estos Americaiios I" 

About twenty Americans were employed in the two contend- 
ing armies. Those in the Castellon cause were never allowed 
to assist in a charge or attack, their skill being held at too high 
an estimate as riflemen to be risked in the open field. The ac- 
curacy acquired by some of these auxiliaries became a matter 
of great wonder, and large bribes were offered on both sides to 
secure their services. There were also Italians and French em- 
ployed as gunners and riflemen. The country beyond Granada 
and to the northward of Leon was infested with guerrillas and 
scouting-parties, keeping the inhabitants in a constant state of ' 
alarm. Nicaragua has rarely suffered under more pressing evils 
than at this time. 



94 • EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

The foundation of the present city of Leon was laid some 
eighty years after the abandonment of the old capital founded 
by Francisco Hernandez de Cordova in 1523. The ruins of the 
old city, dating in antiquity with Granada, may yet be seen 
near Lake Managua. The work of Thomas Gage, an English 
friar writing in 1699,* p. 419, says : "This city of Leon is very 
curiously built, for the chief Delight of the Inhabitants consists 
in their houses, and in the Pleasure of the country adjoining, and 
in the abundance of all things for the Life of Man, more than in 
the extraordinary Riches, which there are not so much enjoyed 
as in other parts of America. They are content with fine Gar- 
dens, with variety of singing Birds and Parrets, with plenty of 
Fish and Flesh, which is cheap, and with gay Horses, and so 
lead a delicious, lasie, and idle Life ; not aspiring much Trade 
and Traffique, tho they have near them the Lake, which com- 
monly every year sends forth some Frigates to the Havana by 
the North Sea, and Realejo on the South Sea, which might be 
very commodious for any dealing and rich trading in Peru or to 
Mexico, if their Spirits would carry them so far : the Gentle- 
men of this City are almost as vain and phantastical as are those 
of Chiapa : especially from the Pleasure of this City is all that 
Province of Nicaragua called by the Spaniards ' Mahomet's Par- 
adise.' " Speaking of the opulence and trade of Granada, the 
same author says, p. 421 : " That year I was there, before I 
betook myself to an Indian Town, in one day there entered six 
Riquas (which were at least three hundred mules) from St. Sal- 
vador and Comayagua only, laden with nothing but Indigo, 
Cochinil and Hides ; and two days after, from Guatemala, came 
in three more, one laden with silver (which was the king's trib- 
ute from that country), the other with Sugar, and the other with 
Indigo." 

Leon now contains about 15,000 inhabitants, among whom 
are many of the most illustrious families in Central America. 
The city extends over a large space, but in architecture does 
not materially differ from Chinandega. There are several pub- 
lic buildings with some pretensions to elegance. Its churches 

* A New Survey of the West Indies; ^^ being a Journey of Three Thousand and 
Three Hundred Miles loithin the main-land of America. By Thomas Gage, the only 
Protestant that was ever known to have travel! d those parts." 



CATHEDRAL OF SAN PEDRO. 



95 




CATBEDBAT, OF LEON. 



are more numerous and larger than those of any other Central 
American city excepting Guatemala, among them the Cathedral 
of San Pedro, already referred to. Its roof has served as a for- 
tress in times of siege, and no better evidence is wanting of the 
fearful struggles which have taken place around it than the 
thousands of bullet-marks scarring its venerable walls. They 
are of immense thickness, and no earthquake has yet been able 
to create the slightest fissure in them. One of its towers was 
struck by lightning some years since, and the upper portion de- 
stroyed. The interior has all the impressive grandeur of the 
European cathedrals. It was formerly enormously rich in or- 
naments, but these have long since disappeared. Numerous 
tawdry, tinseled figures of the Virgin and some of the saints 
stand now in the grand old niches, with here and there an exe- 
crable daub of a painting, as if in mockery of its ancient splen- 
dor. High aloft in a small stone gallery was placed a broken- 
winded organ; its wheezing and discordant strains filled the 
building with inharmonious echoes. The pavement was cover- 
ed here and there with motionless figures, kneeling with faces 
toward the great altar, near which two priests were reading 
some ceremony. The great beUs of the church, pealing forth at 
intervals their heavy notes, sounded with dead and muffled 
tone between these ponderous walls. The church of La Mer- 
ced is another imposing structure, but by no means comparing 
to San Pedro. Here we found some fifty worshipers, whose 
low-muttered prayers sounded like the hum of thousands of 
buzzing insects among the arches. The churches of Calvario, 



96 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUKAS. 

San Juan de Dios, San Francisco, and Guadalupe are, among 
some others, worthy of notice. At Subtiaba, an Indian village 
near the city, there is also a well-built church, and these com- 
prise all in or around th,e city likely to attract attention. 

My letters of introduction included several to Castellon, the 
Provisional Director of the state. On the morning after my 
arrival I called upon him. The Casa del Gobierno was situa- 
ted in a narrow street leading from the Plaza de la Merced. A 
guard presented arms as I entered, and a well-dressed attache of 
the place, in reply to my inquiry, said the President was break- 
fasting, and invited me to a seat near the corridor. The room 
was dark and cool, stone paved, without ornaments, and perfect- 
ly silent. In ten minutes a door at the opposite end of the 
room opened, and I was requested to enter an adjoining apart- 
ment, where having seated myself, in another moment the Pres- 
ident came in. I introduced myself, and presented my letters, 
at which he glanced for a moment, and then taking out his ta~ 
haquero, offered me a cigar. Castellon appeared a little under 
forty years of age. In stature he was short, inclined to corpu- 
lency, with a fine, open, expressive face, the pleasing qualities 
of which were much enhanced by a constant smile, almost fem- 
inine in its sweetness. For a wonder, he had light, straight 
hair, a fair complexion, and blue eyes. He was dressed in 
snow-white pants, a blue coat with metal buttons, and wore a 
profusion of jewelry. After half an hour's interview, I thought 
him the most polished gentleman I had met in the country. 
As an orator, he was not excelled in the state ; and as a diplo- 
matist, his powers have been brought into prominent notice in 
his advocacy of the rights of Nicaragua against the pretensions 
of England while minister to that country. He kindly offered 
me letters of introduction to President Cabaiias, of Honduras, 
and to other distinguished families in that republic. The des- 
pacho in which we were seated was the head-quarters of the 
actual government. It contained two tables, with red damask 
covers, several chairs, and, as usual, a hammock. These com- 
prised the furniture of the apartment. 

As I left the room, the President assured me of his particular 
favor, and hinted that I might be of service to him before leav- 
ing the state. Of course, I placed myself " at his disposition." 



VISIT TO THE "HEAD OF THE CHURCH." 97 

In the sola I met Senor Jesus Barca, newly appointed Ministro 
de Helaciones, to whom I delivered my dispatches and letters. 
He was a short, active little gentleman, with skin dried to 
parchment, and the blackest and most piercing eyes I had yet 
encountered among this dark-eyed race. He promised me a 
special passport, which he said would serve me day or night 
any where in the repubhc. While conversing we were joined 
by another government official, Senor Pablo Caravajal, Minister 
of War and Finance. He was as profnse in compliments as 
my other newly-made friends, and placed himself and "poor 
house" at my disposal. 

This last is a matter of custom in all Spanish America. An 
expression of admiration bestowed upon a horse, saddle, house, 
or article of jewelry, generally elicits the reply, " JEs de Yd., 
senor,'"' or, "It is at your service, sir." 

Foreigners sometimes construe this pretty little practice lit- 
erally, very much to the chagrin of the punctilious Don. 

Most of the members of the new government to whom I was 
introduced looked haggard and overworked. They, at least, 
were not amenable to the charge of laziness commonly laid at 
the door of the Central American. This careworn expression 
struck me as the characteristic feature of public men in the 
country. The amount of labor and correspondence, added to 
the debilitating eifect of the climate, seems to tell upon natives 
as well as foreigners. 

Before leaving California, I had received from a friend a kind 
letter of introduction to Don Jorje Yiteri, Bishop of Leon. On 
my arrival, I learned he had been dead several months, and, be- 
ing desirous of making my peace with the head of the Church, 
I determined to call upon his successor. 

A fat little girl, barefooted, and half-frightened at the appear- 
ance of a stranger, ushered me into the sola of the padre. Aft- 
er a few minutes' delay she returned, and said the padre was 
asleep, but advised me to leave my letter and call later. On 
ray return, two hours afterward, she handed it to me unopened, 
saying that her master never opened notes addressed to dead 
men, and wondered I had not ascertained in el JSTorte the death 
of the bishop. I found I had offended by my ignorance of ec- 
clesiastical forms, and departed a wiser man, but without seeing 

G 



93 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

the head of the Church. A day or two afterward I met the 
old gentleman waddling home from mass, and, much to my sur- 
prise, he advanced and addressed me, proffering a cigarro hy 
way of breaking the ice. I found him an agreeable, well-edu- 
cated man, and by no means the bigoted churchman I had ex- 
pected. My fault consisted in not knowing that the defunct 
dignitary had been succeeded by so distinguished a personage. 

While in Leon I received several invitations from families, 
and met some of the most distingue of the city. There seems 
but little difference between the manner of living here and in 
Mexico. At the house of Seiior Nolberto Ramierez, former 
president of the state, I found that gentleman living in retire- 
ment from the cares of public life. He made particular inqui- 
ries regarding the political affairs of California, and showed a 
degree of interest in the progress of the new state, and a minute- 
ness of information I was unprepared to meet. He predicted 
the eventual separation of California from the Union, and was 
so positive on the subject that I waived the argument. He was 
extremely cautious in conversing upon the affairs of Nicaragua. 
He has the reputation of having devoted a lifetime to the ar- 
rangement of the political turmoils of the state, and has never 
been suspected of harboring other than the most liberal and 
patriotic views toward the country. He was tall and command- 
ing in stature, with strongly-marked features, a serious, thought- 
ful cast of countenance, and with a natural elegance of address 
which is wanting in very few of the leading men of Central 
America. The administration of Ramierez is said to have been 
the most politic and peaceful since the independence. Had the 
Castellon cause succeeded, he would doubtless have resumed 
the presidency on the re-establishment of peace. 

Among the most cordial of the friends I made in Leon was 
Don Francisco Diaz Zapato, whose open frankness of character 
never fails to win the heart at the first interview. To his kind- 
ness I was indebted for a paragraph in the Nueva JEra, the dem- 
ocratic organ of the state, setting forth the objects of my visit, 
and which I afterward found had already reached the interior of 
Honduras before my arrival there. At his residence I was in- 
troduced to several young ladies, whose accomplishments and 
graces took me back to the scenes of my native land. One of 



SOCIETY IN LEON. 



99 




THE BRIDGE OF LEON. 



them performed a number of waltzes and operatic airs on the 
piano with a brilliancy and taste hardly to be expected in Nica- 
ragua, where the means of musical instruction are so meagre. 

The principal topics in society seemed to be the probable re- 
sult of the siege of Granada and the revolution in general. In 
these conversations the ladies usually joined. There seemed a 
universal fear among them that some of the frightful scenes of 
the old war might at any time be renewed — a fear not entirely 
groundless in the event of a change in the tide of affairs against 
the Castellon cause. So prevalent was this idea, that Dr. Liv- 
ingston's house was made the receptacle of trunks of valuables, 
stored there with the impression that under the American flag 
they would be safe. While sitting in Senor Zapato's house, the 
news arrived that one of the principal churches in Granada had 
lost its tower in the bombardment. 

Returning one day to the house, I found a note addressed to 
me containing an invitation from Castellon to call at the Casa 
del Gohierno on important business. Arrived there, I found a 
licenciado of San Salvador, who was introduced as a leading 
member of the Liberal party. A number of civil and military 
persons were seated at a table, on which were spread books, 
pens, and paper, while one was endeavoring to explain to the 
others some knotty question in the science of gunnery. They 
desired of me an estimate of the cost, in California, of two 



100 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURA.S. 

mortars, two hundred bombs, and the necessary accoutrements. 
Though not perfectly " posted" in such matters, I made the cal- 
culation, and, in the course of conversation, was surprised to 
learn that not one in the army was acquainted with the method 
of firing a mortar, or with the slightest matters pertaining to 
their use, and I now saw why the services of foreigners were 
held in such repute. Before I left the room a liberal offer was 
made me to abandon my enterprise and join the Democratic 
army. I had, however, long since determined to eschew any 
part in the dissensions of the country, at least until I arrived at 
Tegucigalpa. 

■ My stay in Leon was sufficiently long to enable me to see its 
" lions," and to obtain a pretty correct estimate of the character- 
istics of its inhabitants. I found them imbued with that for- 
mality and politeness always marking the Spaniard, sociable, 
obliging, and, though alive to the unhappy condition of their 
country, extremely sensitive as to the opinion expressed by for- 
eigners. A dozen times I was asked how I liked Nicaragua, 
and as I had landed in Central America determined to preserve 
my temper and find no fault among the people, I often gratified 
my audience with a scrap of praise, which seemed not the less 
acceptable for being not wholly deserved. To judge from the 
articles appearing in the newspaper of the country, and the nu- 
merous political pamphlets and hand-bills published and left at 
the doors, there seemed no lack of patriotism. From the pres- 
ident to the merest vagabond, every inhabitant may express his 
ideas upon the state of the country, and every body that can do 
so reads all that is published. The press is not without its ef- 
fect in Central, America. 

At the house of an acquaintance I observed the iron gratings 
wrenched off from the street windows. This I learned had been 
done by the Democratic army, who had cut these bars into slugs, 
which, being sent to the Jalteva, were fired into Granada. Am- 
munition, however, was now failing, and among other propositions 
made to me was a return to California to purchase some tons of 
gunpowder for the government. Had I been disposed to become 
the commissioner, ray remuneration would probably have con- 
sisted of thanks, judging from the case of Captain Morton, an 
American commanding a schooner in the public service, who had 



SEAECHING FOR TRAVELING GEAR. IQl 

been waiting in vain several months for liis pay ; and also of 
several other foreigners who, venturing to risk their property and 
services, had been wearied and disgusted with the uniform reply, 
" Vienes manana.'''' 

By the advice of my friend the doctor, I determined to pur- 
chase in Leon the necessary articles for my mountain traveling 
through Honduras. In California, afriend who had passed through 
Nicaragua in 1851 had discouraged me from taking my excel- 
lent ]\Iexican saddle, assuring me that all the horse paraphernalia 
could be obtained in Nicaragua without trouble. I had hardly 
arrived at San Juan del Sur when I discovered the fallacy of 
such an idea, and I had to regret for eight months afterward not 
having provided myself with this necessary article. Saddles in 
the interior of Central America are not to be obtained. An 
apology for the article, the albardo, may be bought for from six 
to eight dollars, but in shape, material, and comfort entirely un- 
like the famous Mexican saddle, while for mountain traveling it 
is even less convenient than the English or American patterns. 
Every gentleman throughout the country owns his saddle, which 
it is considered almost impolite to attempt to borrow, while few 
are found exposed for sale in the shops. In Nicaragua, the 
same license (to call it by a no severer word) which seized upon 
mules and horses wherever they were found, appropriated also 
the saddles and albardos ; consequently, it was with the great- 
est difficulty one could be obtained. A whole day was spent in 
hunting up, with the help of a couple of the doctor's servants, 
the common gear of a horse. Feed was equally scarce, and it 
being dangerou.s to put horses to pasture, it was necessary to 
fodder them at home, for which small bundles of sacate, at a me- 
dio a bunch, were purchased. I enter into these details that the 
future traveler may know what to expect in Nicaragua. 

On the day previous to my departure, one of the heaviest 
rain-storms I ever experienced passed over Leon. The houses 
across the street were but faintly seen through the falling water, 
and the thoroughfares were running streams. This was pro- 
nounced the severest of the year. The quantity of rain descend- 
ing m a season is very great. At the hacienda of Polvon, own- 
ed by Dr. Livingston, where he kept a rain gauge, there fell, in 
1853, from September 9th to November 19th, eighty inches of 



102 EXFLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

water. Eighteen inches fell in one day. In Chinandega rain 
is said to have fallen three feet in seven days, and the doctor 
calculated that one hundred and fifty inches often falls in one 
rainy season of six months. In the mountainous parts of the 
country, the suddenness of the rains sometimes swells the river 
to such an extent as to detain the government couriers many 
hours. With the cessation of the storm the streams usually 
decrease. 

On the same evening Sefior Barca called with a special pass- 
port. The senor had hardly taken his leave when the boy 
Chico entered, with a blank face, quietly remarking that, while 
he was leading the horses to water, they had been pounced 
upon, and he had only escaped impressment by dodging be- 
tween the animals and making the best of his way to the house. 
I was already giving up the beasts for lost, when the doctor, 
hearing the story, took Chico out with him, and, after long and 
severe expostulation with the commanding officer, succeeded in 
regaining the property. 

On the following morning, before daylight, I was awakened 
by a pulling at my sleeve, and, opening my eyes, saw Pablo be- 
side the hammock with a lighted candle and a cup of delicious 
coffee. In a few minutes the whole house was astir ; the mules 
were saddled, our "good-by's" said, and, accompanied by the 
doctor and another resident of Leon, we issued into the silent 
street just as a streak of light betokened dawn. The only 
sounds as we passed slowly out of the city were the distant 
note of the deep-toned bell, and the faint cry of " Alerto !" of 
the watchful sentinel. The air was soft and delicious. The 
hum of thousands of insects, rising among the dark woods 
through which we passed, created a drowsy music in accordance 
with the stillness of the hour. As the eastern horizon became 
tinted with the coming dawn, a scene was gradually revealed 
such as I had never before witnessed. 

We were gradually ascending a rise in the road which over- 
looked a vast expanse of plain, covered with innumerable vari- 
eties of trees, presenting as yet, in the faint morning light, but 
an indistinct mass of verdure. Looking westward, with our 
backs to the crimson horizon, we counted five lofty volcanoes 
rising in majestic beauty, their tops thinly mantled with gray 



SUNRISE ON THE PLAIN OF LEON. 



103 




THE GKEAT PLAIN OF lEON. 



cloads. Their conical forms, perfectly defined, appeared of an 
intense blue, which, either from the scintillating glow of the 
eastern sky, or the roseate tints among the wet foliage covering 
their sides, seemed to sparkle and blink in the morning light 
like great slopes of blue velvet interwoven with brilliants. This 
opalescent eifect lasted but a few minutes, when, as the sun be- 
gan to illumine the landscape below, the flickering azure of the 
mountains gave place to a rich green, and every peak stood out 
in sharp relief against the sky. The eye could never weary of 
the surpassing loveliness of such a scene. The entire landscape 
possessed a luxurious softness and delicacy of outline, a round- 
ed, undulating beauty, such as no description can paint. In- 
sensibly we paused and gazed, as upon the transitions of a dis- 
solving view. Morning, casting aside her dewy mantle, and 
mingling with the " sapphire blaze" of day ! 

Rare birds flitted along the road, and flocks of the lora real, 
or yellow-crested parrot, surprised by the sudden appearance of 
our little cavalcade, fluttered noisily from amid the overhanging 
trees, or peeped at us slyly from out the rank leaves, with whose 
emerald hues their own bright plumage blended and vied. The 
first four hours' ride was the most delicious of my life. I could 
not help being charmed. Even my companions, used as they 
were to the scene, admitted they had seldom breathed a purer 
air or traveled in a more delightful morning. At eight o'clock 
we reached Posultega, where we breakfasted at the house of 



104 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

Seiiora Eamierez, and again crossing the little river of Quesal- 
huague, we passed Chichigalpa at a round gallop, and re-enter- 
ed Chinandega, having met but four persons on the road. My 
companions proceeded to the house of a friend, while Pablo and 
myself dismounted at the door of Seiior Montealegre's hospita- 
ble mansion, where, as before, the whole household turned out 
to receive me. 

On entering the house, I was about taking off my hat to en- 
joy the welcome coolness of the veranda, when the ladies ut- 
tered a general cry, insisting that an attack of calentura would 
certainly succeed so great an imprudence, as also from my at- 
tempting to use cold water on my hands while heated with rid- 
ing. A calabash of delicious tiste, cool from the earthen jar in 
which it is kept, and a stretch at full length in the hammock, 
served to make me thoroughly comfortable. This beverage is 
drunk throughout Nicaragua, and in some portions of Honduras. 
It is made to order in a long calabash taken from a tree (the 
name of which I have lost) growing in clusters in all parts of 
the state. A quantity of cacao, sugar, and pounded parched 
corn are mixed carefully together, and the rustic goblet filled 
to the brim with cool water. A curiously-carved muddler is 
then used to stir them up, and the calabash, placed in the folds 
of a napkin to maintain an upright position, is handed to the 
thirsty recipient, the sides of the cup distilling little globules of 
coolness. I never failed, when traveling, to procure a cup of 
tiste when it was to be had. Its delicate flavor and refreshing- 
qualities are admitted by all who have tasted it. 

The oranges of Chinandega are celebrated in all Central 
America. They have a peculiar sweetness not possessed by 
any others. The white pine-apples of this vicinity are also fa- 
mous ; they are descended from the Guayaquil pines, which 
were introduced into Nicaragua some years since, and are far 
superior to those of the country. The fruits are those found in 
most intertropical latitudes, and are universally known ; but for 
delicious flavor, and the quality which does not bring disgust 
with satiety, commend me to the Chinandega orange (the blood), 
the nispero, the guineo, guava, and zapote. The good seiiora, 
having learned my taste, took care that a bountiful supply of 
these luscious fruits should be always within my reach. In- 



GUERRILLAS. 105 

deed, it seemed that nothing conducive to my comfort was omit- 
ted by my kind entertainers. If I wished to ride, I had but to 
take my choice from among several valuable andadoras. A 
step out into the fierce rays of the noonday sun, and Pablo was 
sure to follow me with an umbrella, and a hint from la senora 
that the cool of the evening was healthier for a promenade. 
The same careful attendant, by order of Don Mariano, came after 
me to the bath with relays of towels and other comforts. During 
my absence at Leon another demand for $5000 had been made 
on Seiior Montealegre. I found him in great trouble, and en- 
tertaining serious thoughts of leaving the country with what 
remained of his worldly goods. Even the stanch adherence he 
had ever shown to the Democratic cause was daily lessening 
under the infamous robberies practiced upon him. Other fami- 
lies were sufierers to a nearly equal extent. With the name 
and form of a republic, there is actually as little security for life 
and property in Nicaragua as in despotic Russia itself. 

Lounging in my hammock on a still, drowsy afternoon, I was 
aroused by an unusual commotion, and cries of el enemigo ! fol- 
lowed by the clapping to of doors and windows along the street, 
and the hurrying to and fro of women. In a few minutes the 
house was darkened and firmly barricaded. Our little party 
proceeded into the street, where we were presently surrounded 
by a crowd of acquaintances, some advocating a hasty retreat 
out of the town, and others running distractedly about, with ap- 
parently no settled object in view. The alarm came from two 
frightened horsemen, who rode into town with the news that 
Cacherula, a famous guerrilla chieftain attached to the Cha- 
morro cause, was about attacking the place with three hundred 
men. In ten minutes every house and tienda was shut. Wom- 
en stood at the half-opened doors, and signaled to each other by 
clapping the hands. The streets were deserted save by a few 
mounted citizens strongly compromised on the Castellon side, 
and ready to fly at the first confirmation of the report. The 
respective flags were raised above each consular residence, and 
from the Plaza came the rapid beat of the little drum, calling 
the garrison to arms. Relying on our foreign appearance and 
non-committal position to protect us, but buckling on a formi- 
dable array of Colt's persuaders, we walked around to where Dr. 



106 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

Livingston and a few foreign friends had raised the American 
flag. A similar protection, my own private property, was al- 
ready floating over the door of my host, who, with the females 
of the house, regarded its flaunting folds as an aegis of safety. 
My friends laughed at our armament, and said this was alarm 
No. 20 since the commencement of the revolution. While we 
were talking, a squad of troopers, apparently full of fight, dash- 
ed past, headed by a determined-looking officer, who sat his 
horse like a statue. Every body expected an action ; but, after 
an hour's suspense, they returned, and the flags were pulled 
down, the houses and tiendas reopened, and the streets toward 
evening became again filled with groups of knowing politicians, 
commenting on the events of the day. As on former occasions, 
a large amount of valuables had been carried with all speed to 
the houses of the American and English consuls, but were re- 
turned the same night. Life in Nicaragua in revolutionary 
times is at best a succession of alarms. 

Visits in Chinandega are usually made after sunset, when the 
daily household cares are supposed to be over. At this time 
the seiiorita issues from the house, with her raven hair simply 
plaited and tastefully put up behind the head (the Spanish wom- 
en are usually faultless in their manner of arranging the hair). 
A light and often gaudy shawl is thrown becomingly over the 
shoulders, and drawn tightly in around the waist. Not to have 
small hands and feet, even among the working people, is an ex- 
ception to the rule, and it is rare to see an awkward gait among 
the Central American women. Every one who has passed 
through the country can not fail to have remarked their upright 
forms, and easy, graceful step. With the lower classes this is 
caused by the never-ending task of bearing water-jars upon the 
head, an erect posture enabling them the better to balance the 
load. An elasticity is also acquired by stepping over the large 
pavements of the streets, requiring the pedestrian to exert the 
muscles of the toes and calf. 

On entering each other's houses, the ladies usually go through 
a very pretty little pantomime, something like an embrace, but 
ending by patting each other gently over the shoulders. This 
done, the visitors seat themselves around the room, and the con- 
versation commences at once and without restraint. The cigar- 



SEPARATION FROM OLD COMPANIONS. 107 

ro is generally smoked by all as a sort of incentive to sociabili- 
ty. There is, however, a tendency to formality, and a stiff, up- 
right manner of sitting around the room, and one misses the 
style of the really accomplished and elegant lady. Among the 
women there is true sincerity. You are seldom deceived by 
them, and infidelity is rarer than the habitual defamers of Cen- 
tral American women would lead one to believe. On one occa- 
sion, at a reunion in the sala of Seiior Montealegre, I was intro- 
duced to Don Francisco Morazan, a natural son of the general. 
He bore some traces of the remarkable man from whom he was 
descended, but in character was as different as night from day. 
General IMorazan left still another son, a General Ruis, residing 
in Tegucigalpa. He resembles the portraits I have seen of the 
father, but there the likeness ceases. It rarely happens that the 
stronger traits of great men are transmitted to their descendants. 
While awaiting the arrival of a package of introductory let- 
ters, we scoured the country around for many miles in the vi- 
cinity of Chinandega, visiting several haciendas and small towns, 
and once actually starting with a guide to make the ascent of 
El Viejo, which some of our resident friends asserted had never 
been accomplished. Circumstances, however, obliged us to de- 
fer the project. The arrival of the expected letters at last en- 
abled us to proceed with our original expedition, and after two 
days of consultation an arrangement was finally efiected with 
my two companions, and it was decided that I should proceed 
alone into Honduras, the observations and contracts to be made 
there requiring the services of one person only. I did not part 
from my friends without the deepest regret. We had left Cali- 
fornia together, and hitherto shared alike the pleasures and in- 
conveniences of the country. To the attractions of agreeable 
company they added the warm friendship cemented by long 
acquaintance in the early days of Californian life. Still there 
was to me an enchantment in venturing alone upon the secluded 
and unexplored region I was about to visit. Fortified with 
flattering letters to the principal citizens of Honduras, well pro- 
vided with doubloons, and confident that the enterprise, if suc- 
cessful, would possibly open a rich mineral district to American 
enterprise, I looked forward with pleasure and impatience to the 
continuance of my travels. 



108 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

The Montealegres took upon themselves the management of 
my outfit. To the last hour of my stay with this truly benev- 
olent family they showed a solicitude in my welfare I could 
scarcely have looked for away from home. A hundred little ar- 
ticles were obtained for me, the necessity of which I could never 
have known. Early next morning, accompanied by the sons of 
Don Carlos Dardano, who were now returning from a four years' 
absence to their home at Tigre Island, I left the house where I 
had experienced so many hospitalities, and, followed by a little 
tempest of good wishes from the family, turned the heads of our 
horses toward the embarcadero of Zempisque, situated at the 
head of a small tide-water creek connecting with the Estero 
Real. A ride of four miles brought us to the ancient town of 
Viejo, the head-quarters of the bongo-men, and where, the night 
previous, my attentive host in Chinandega had dispatched a boy 
to engage a bongo for the trip to Tigre Island. The town, which 
is one of the oldest in the state, contains some three thousand 
inhabitants. Its private dwellings are constructed better than 
those of any other place of equal size in Nicaragua, and it is 
the residence of many old and wealthy families. Don Mariano 
asserts that the richest men in Central America reside there. 
The church of La Concepcion is the principal building, and 
there is a smaller one — Calvario. 

The road between Chinandega and this town is bordered with 
the usual rank growth of cactus hedge, separating it from corn 
and bean plantations, all smiling in the early sunlight, and green 
as a New England meadow in June. From here to Zempisque, 
a distance of fourteen miles, we saw but one house ; the road 
quickly dwindling into a mere mule-path, leading through a 
thick forest, some of the trees six feet in diameter. The woods 
appeared to have been recently burned over, many of the smaller 
growth standing leafless and dead. The larger ones formed a 
dense shade overhead, among which several large red monkeys 
were swinging, some by their tails, and grimacing horribly at 
us as we passed. I could not resist the temptation of examin- 
ing one, and at the crack of my rifle a wounded fellow came 
tumbling down through the branches, the woods resounding 
with the cries of his companions. One of his legs was broken, 
and, apart from his almost human moans and real tears, his ap- 



EL PUERTO DE ZEIMPISQUE. 



109 



pealing glances, as if reproaching me for my cruelty, made me 
resolve never again to enact this needless tragedy. His trem- 
bling accents, and the serio-comic manner with which he put his 
fingers into the Woody wound, and piteously held them up for 
me to gaze at, haunted me the rest of the day. Pablo, who had 
come with us to lead back the horses, put an end to his suffer- 
ings. I lacked the heart to finish my own work. The entire 
northern coast of Nicaragua bordering upon the Bay of Fonseca 
is a wild waste of country, wooded to a certain extent, as I have 
described above, and, with the exception of the marshes through 
which the lesser esteros make their way, capable of producing, 
with cultivation, enough to supply all Central America with 
food. But, with the exception of the great cape forming the 
southern " Pillar of Hercules" of the Bay of Fonseca, and upon 
which the great volcano of Consiguina is situated, this portion of 
the state is sparsely inhabited and produces nothing. In the re- 
gion above excepted there are several large cattle estates, and some 
successful attempts at cultivation have been made. Before 
noon we arrived at a solitary hut of poles and straw, standing 

about twenty feet above a 
slough of despond, in the 
rank, slimy black mud of 
which, it being low tide, 
several bongos lay keeled 
over and blistering in the 
sun. We had arrived at 
Zempisque. A negro, shiv- 
ering with the fever and 
ague, put his head out from 
beneath a tattered blanket 
at the door of the hut, and 
faintly ejaculated '■'-Adios, 
Cahalleros P His filmy, 
blood-shot eyes and atten- 
uated features were almost 
ghastly in their hideous- 
ness. To our inquiries, he replied that we had yet to wait four 
hours for the return of tide. 

I can not now recall a picture of more squalid wretchedness 




EL PUEETO DE ZEMPISQUE. 



110 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

than was here presented. The dense mangrove-trees, in which 
the croaking zoj)ilote sat brooding like the evil genius of the 
place over the mirj waste below, seemed like huge skeletons, 
outstretching like arms their gaunt, leafless branches, the gnarl- 
ed roots beneath a representation of writhing snakes. This idea 
was assisted by an incessant indescribable noise, caused by the 
movements of myriads of crabs scrabbling in the reeky slime. 
What with having but just severed the last chain that asso- 
ciated with home, the dying moans of the monkey which would 
haunt me, and the desolation of this frightful place, I now expe- 
rienced my first twinge of genuine disgust. To add to the discom- 
forts, the elder Mr. Dardano was taken down with fever, and we 
had scarcely got him stretched out in the filthy hut when the 
chubasco came on, with its forked lightnings and rattling thun- 
der. The dismal solitude of the locality, the downpour of rain, 
the complaints of the sick, and the reflection that my papers and 
traveling paraphernalia, which had not yet arrived in the careton, 
would be ready soaked to hand, combined to make Zempisque 
a centre-point for future horrors and never-failing maledictions. 
The rain at last ceased, and in its stead arose, as if by magic, 
clouds of musquitoes, gnats, and infinitesimal sand-flies, in such 
quantities that recollections of the Eio Grande, Mississippi, or 
Sacramento pale in comparison. The screeching cart at last 
arrived, and with it half a dozen sailors from Viejo, who de- 
liberately pulled off their shirts and pants, and, wading naked 
into the mud, scrambled on board the largest bongo and began 
bailing her out. By the time this was accomplished, a small 
puddle of water forming in the lowest part of the mud announced 
the approach of the flood tide. As the water increased, the 
bongo, which was an immense "dug-out" of gicanacastefWas 
got afloat, and our baggage put into her. I inquired the name 
of the patron, and a sullen, pig-eyed little mulatto presented 
himself with an air of vast importance, remarking that he was 
no " lake sailor," as he contemptuously denominated the navi- 
gators of Lake Nicaragua, but a true pilot and mariner. I pre- 
sume he had received a portion of his pay in Chinandega, as he 
had two bottles of aguardiente, which he carefully stowed away 
in the stern sheets. He called himself Antonio, time out of 
mind the name of Spanish sailors. At heart he was a kind, 



A CENTRAL AMERICAN PACKET. HI 

t'aitliful fellow, and seemed to exercise some control over the 
rest. About two hours before sunset, the "Almirante" was 
hauled to the bank, and all hands embarked. She was at least 
thirty feet long, and about four deep. Over the stern had been 
placed some wooden hoops, bent into a semicu'cular form, serv- 
ing for the framework to a sort of awning, which, as " Toney" 
remarked, with an air of no little pride, he had constructed with 
a special view to the comfort of passengers. This was the cab- 
in. On the bottom of the boat, a flooring of rough planks was 
placed on sticks laid athwart-ships, to protect the saloon pas- 
sengers from the water breaking over the sides, or falling into the 
boat in the way of rain. Altogether, our vessel was a triumph 
of Central American ship-building, and as we shoved out of the 
little embarcadero under the trees, that bent quite down to the 
gunwales, all hands gave an exultant whoop. Once under way, 
my boy Rafael (an Olanchano, who was desirous of getting home 
under my wing, and offered his services for the privilege of ac- 
companying me) dragged out a pair of alforjas^ into which the 
bounteous hand of the Seiiora Montealegre had crammed aD 
manner of edibles. A repast was spread on the bottom of the 
bongo, and all seemed complete but coffee. I looked at Eafael, 
and said inquiringly, 

" There is enough of it," replied he, " but it can't be cooked 
on board." 

"Why not?" 

"There is no kitchen!" In vain did I endeavor to explain 
to him that a fire might be lighted on the ballast, and at last 
compromised the matter by making it myself, heating the water 
in an old tin vessel used as a bailer. The crew looked on in 
wonder. 

"Eight years have I been a bongo-man," said Antonio, " and 
it is only now we have learned from Don Guillermo how to ob- 
tain a great luxury." 

They resolved to store up the lesson, and, I doubt not, have 
made coffee on the ballast of the " Almirante" ever since, if, in- 
deed, she is not capsized and lost long since. 

Equally ignorant were Antonio and his salt-water companions 
of the rise and fall of the tide in the estero. Of what use would 



112 EXPLORATION'S IN HONDURAS. 

it be to him to cram his mind with such dull statistics ? So, in 
eight years, he had never taken the trouble to look. By the 
water-marks on the trees I judged it to be eight feet. We fol- 
lowed the creek for about five miles, preserving for that distance 
a width of about forty feet, and, as Antonio assured me, of suf- 
ficient depth to float a large vessel, though I imagine that my 
patron's idea of size in naval architecture was limited to the 
different grades of bongos. The water, however, looked deep 
and still, and I failed to reach bottom with a sixteen-foot oar. 
The story goes that, about ten years since, a bright idea struck 
one of the Chinandega merchants, that, by opening this passage 
into the Estero Real sufficiently to admit large vessels, an easy 
communication could be had with the Bay of Fonseca, and the 
trading facilities of Northern Nicaragua be much improved. 
The work would result in vast benefit to all concerned. The 
labor would be trifling, and the expenses next to nothing. He 
pondered over the subject a year, and then imparted it in dread- 
ful secrecy to a few neighbors, through whom it gradually got 
noised abroad. A meeting was held, and a committee appoint- 
ed to examine the facilities of the place, who, after six months 
of patient deliberation, reported favorably. The priests decided 
that it would be a good thing, and since that time a meeting has 
been annually held to ascertain the most auspicious moment to 
commence operations. Without the establishment of a new or- 
der of affairs, the great-grandchildren of the committee will con- 
tinue to deliberate on this project during the next century. 

A dense thicket of mangle-trees borders the creek, through 
which a schooner of fifty tons could not pass without hous- 
ing her masts. These trees are draped with long ear-drops, or 
pendents, hanging gracefully among the foliage. Two hours' 
pulling brought us, just at sunset, into the waters of the great 
estero, which here runs north and south. We shot out of the 
tortuous little river through whose mazes we had been winding 
into a fine body of water, apparently two hundred yards wide, 
and of suffi-cient depth to admit the passage of vessels of large 
tonnage. To the southward the estero lost itself, without any 
diminution of width, among a solid thicket of green foliage, over 
the tops of which the blue heights of El Viejo, though many 
leagues distant, loomed up against the evening sky. As the 



SCENES ON THE ESTERO REAL. 



113 



sun went down, a swarm of musquitoes came out of the jungle 
and bid defiance to sleep. Mr. Dardano's fever became alarm- 
ingly violent, and, as a last resort, I administered pills and pow- 
ders given me bj my friend. Dr. S., an hour before my de- 
parture from Chinandega. That done, I placed him in the bot- 
tom of the bongo, and, lighting a cigar, stretched myself out on 
a species of thwart, and between the paroxysms of the mus- 
quitoes tried to enjoy the quiet beauty of the scene. The lux- 




VIEW ON THE ESTEKO KEA.L. 



uriant vegetation hung in shadowy festoons along both banks 
of the estero, spreading in heavy green drapery upon the trees, 
an impervious wall of foliage, the lower leaves kissing the wa- 
ter's brim, and the upper dropping in graceful curling vines a 
hundred feet above. At times, as we glided noiselessly down 
with the tide, little vistas opened, revealing leafy bowers, now 
fast darkening with the approaching night. Parasitical plants, 
tasseled with gorgeous flowers, loaded the branches, which, as 
we slowly rounded the gradual bends, assumed fanciful shapes, 

H 



114 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

now resembling the massive arches of some old, battlemented 
castle, and anon changing into grotesque caverns and grottoes. 
Night came slowlj on, ushered in with the distant premoni- 
tions of an approaching squall. Antonio hauled the covering- 
closer over the cabin, and prepared for the deluge of rain, forti- 
fying himself meanwhile with a long pull at the aguardiente bot- 
tle, an auxiliary which he kept carefully wrapped up in his dis- 
carded shirt under one of the rough boards in the bottom of the 
bongo. One after another, the brilliant constellations wheeling 
overhead were obscured by the black-rimmed clouds rolling up 
from the horizon, until, in the deepening gloom, our bongo seem- 
ed to lie in the midst of an inland lake from which there appear- 
ed no outlet. A gust of wind preceded a terrific thunder-clap 
and blinding lightning, when the drama opened with the fall of 
sheets of water, making the estero an expanse of hissing bub- 
bles. The crew pulled in their oars and crouched shivering un- 
der the chosa, the fierce wind driving the rain between the in- 
terstices of its wretched roof as through muslin. We were 
quickly saturated, and the sick man, covering himself with a 
sorry cloak, moaned piteously in the darkness. As for the bag- 
gage, I had long since resigned all hope of saving it from the 
wet, and trusted to a stout covering of canvas, which I had 
taken the precaution to have fitted to my trunks. No person 
intending to travel in Central America should neglect this, as it 
may prove for many days the only protection to his clothes and 
papers. As the tide was yet ebbing, we continued to drift 
down, passing the esteros of JSTascagola and Palo Blanco, until, 
at nine o'clock, we were opposite a small, dismal military sta- 
tion, known as the Playa Grande, the most northerly outpost of 
Nicaragua. Antonio hoped we might slip by in the darkness, 
and escape the trouble of being interrogated, and perhaps search- 
ed. How they managed to descry us, except by the flashes of 
lightning, I could not imagine ; but when opposite the landing, 
a loud voice hailed, ordering us to anchor, no boat being allowed 
to pass in the night. Antonio shouted in answer that "an Amer- 
ican commissioner, with dispatches from Castellon for the Hon- 
duras government," was on board. Though sopping wet and 
shaking with cold, I could not help laughing aloud at his readi- 
ness ; but the fib was of no avail ; in a moment after, the order 
came to anchor. 



A NIGHT OF ADVENTURES. 115 

There was no help for it, so the patron threw overboard his 
iron apology for an anchor, and in obedience to the voice, whose 
owner we had not yet seen, I scrambled into a boat which An. 
tonio pulled toward us from the end of the landing, taking with 
me a small flask of excellent brandy, which I hoped might be 
useful in dispensing with some vexatious delays. The rain 
still poured with a spite and violence truly tropical. A wretch- 
ed wharf, constructed of cane-poles, extended from the bank, 
and, feeling my way in the darkness, I had just gained a footing 
on the slippery poles, and was reaching forward to take the hand 
of a guard, who, with musket glistening with rain and an ancient 
lantern, had crawled down to assist me, when my foot slipped 
and in an instant I was ten feet under water. This was the 
only attempt I made at sounding the Estero Real, and I am con- 
fident I did not get bottom. A dull gurgling of waters, and a 
choking sense of darkness and cold, is all I remember, until I 
found myself clasping the end of a slippery pole extended by 
the soldier, the scene attended with the loud chattering of the 
bongo-man and the splashing of the still pouring rain. A short 
struggle, andl was once more on the wharf, soaked to the skin, 
and audibly cursing all Nicaraguan officials. The soldier ejac- 
ulated a laconic Caramba ! and led the way about twenty yards 
to a small adobe cabin, with a fire flickering on the ground, and 
surrounded by puddles of water. A hide stretched across the 
" weather" side served for a door to this miserable abode, where 
were squatted half a dozen nearly naked creatures, ghastly with 
calentura, and huddling around the blaze which shone into 
their squalid faces, giving them the appearance of spectres. 
They answered my salutation with a universal ^^Adios, sehor P'' 
while from an adjoining room appeared a dirty, sleepy-looking 
officer, who announced himself as the commandante. He first 
examined my passport from the minister, now well soaked, and 
then, taking the lantern, deliberately surveyed me from boots to 
face, uttering a satisfied grunt in conclusion. 

Under other circumstances I should have kept my cognac 
concealed, but needing it myself in my wet condition, I passed 
it, after paying my own respects to it, to the commandante, 
who, placing it to his mouth, drank nearly half at a gulp, re- 
turning it with a sigh of pleasure and regret. He presented me 



116 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

a paper cigar, and ordered the soldier to escort me back to the 
boat. I asked him his name, which he gave with a gratified 
smile, but, having no place to write it down, it escaped me. It 
was needless to shift my clothes during the continuance of the 
rain, so, wrapping my poncho around me, I crept under the 
cabin, while the natives silently pulled up the anchor, and the 
bongo continued to drift toward the gulf. 

At 11 o'clock the tide turned, and we again anchored. The 
crew crawled into the cabin, took a pull at the aguardiente 
bottle, and in five minutes all but the sick man and myself were 
sleeping soundly, despite the pattering of rain on the roof, the 
muttering of the thunder, or the stifling atmosphere of the little 
den. When I awoke it was broad daylight, and our antique 
bark was leisurely drifting down with the young ebb. A gen- 
tle breeze was blowing from the southwest, and Antonio prom- 
ised to set the sail when we had passed a reach about a mile 
beyond. At this point the Estero Real forks, and discharges 
into the Bay of Fonseca by two mouths, the westerly one being 
the most commonly navigated and safest. The character of the 
country had changed as we approached the bay. The dense 
woodland we had passed through the preceding day had given 
place to low alluvial soil, making out into marshes and cut into 
numerous small islands. High, rank grass stood along the 
banks ; the waters were agitated with the jumping of fish, which 
our men said were to be caught in nameless varieties. To the 
eastward, the distant mountains of Chontales, enveloped in morn- 
ing mist, peered above the horizon, and a long, low stretch of 
country, rolling gradually up to the westward, was pointed out 
as the great volcano of Consiguina, which, in its final eruption 
in 1836, tore itself to pieces and became extinct, after terrifying 
all Central America and part of Mexico. The morning breeze 
blew fresh and welcome, driving before it the musquitoes and 
sand-flies. Here and there an alligator stirred the reeds in some 
distant spot, and the notes of the marsh birds rose clear on the 
air, reminding me of the brisk autumn mornings of New En- 
gland, when, gun in hand, we had tramped patiently among the 
damp marshes, and listened to this same shrill piping with an 
exhilaration that no sweeter songster could create. 

Arrived "at point proposed," ih& patron steered for a grassy 



THE ALMTRANTE UNDER SAIL. II7 

bank, Avhere he made fast, and proceeded to elevate for a mast 
a pole which had occupied nearly the whole length of the bon- 
go. Shrouds were rove and set up, and an immense sail hoist- 
ed, a la leg of mutton, to the halyard blocks. No sooner was 
the sheet hauled aft than the old dug-out, as if ashamed of her 
sluggish movements of the previous day, began to plunge and 
jerk at her moorings. Antonio rushed aft, kicking over every 
thing in his way, and planting his foot in the sick man's stom- 
ach in his hurry ; the crew flew about, jabbering like monkeys ; 
the sail gave one tremendous flap ; away came the stakes, and, 
with a yell from all hands, in which my own voice was not the 
weakest instrument, the old " Almirante" dashed away toward 
the tumbling waters of the broad gulf as if in tow of a locomo- 
tive. I was astonished at her speed. The sick man raised his 
visage above the gunwale, stirred into transient life by the ex- 
ultant racket, but looked dismally ahead to the horizon of tum- 
bling waves, toward which we were flying like an arrow. The 
"Almirante," with a fair wind, steered wild, and Antonio cast 
wistful glances seaward, and owned his regret at not having 
taken my advice at Zempisque, and added a ton or two to the 
ballast. 

Rafael, the Olanchano, had never seen salt water before. 
The poor fellow clung convulsively to the gunwale, alternately 
gazing at the staggering motion of the bongo, and inquiringly 
into my face. I certainly did ask myself how such a spread 
of canvas was to be got in during a chuhasco ; but the confident 
air of Antonio dispelled my doubts, and, satisfied that all was 
right, I lay down, but with a dim foreboding that sleep would 
not be so easy a matter in the gulf, should the present breeze 
continue. Onward we flew, and in half an hour were out of 
the estero, and sweeping steadily over the long, green swell of 
the Bay of Fonseca. 



118 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 



CHAPTER YI. 

Bay of Eonseca. — ^Bongo Sailing. — Agua Dulce. — Volcano of Conchagua. — The 
Eruption of 1835. — Present Appearance. — A Chubasco. — Night in the Bay. — 
Morning. — Tigre Island. — Port Amapala. — Commercial Advantages. — Recep- 
tion. — " La Calentura." — ^Future Prospects of the Island. — Honduras Inter- 
oceanic Rail-road. — Game. — Hunting Excursion. — Cerro. — The Buccaneers. 
— British Aggressions. — A Deer. — Playa Bravo. — Turtle Eggs. — The Urraca. 
— Juacamalla. — Sensonte. — Productions. — The Saw-mill. — President Caba- 
nas. — Climate. — Trade of Amapala. 

The sun burst over the distant mountains of Clioluteca, and 
the morning clouds quickly dissipated before the increasing heat 
as we sped along. The patron, instead of heading directly for 
Tigre Island, hauled to the westward, and coasted by the Consi- 
guina shore. Years before, while pondering over the map of 
Central America, I had remarked this bay (and half the world 
who ever heard of it have done the same) as a mere indentation 
in the coast, with a few islands at its mouth. Later, after read- 
ing the descriptions of recent travelers, and examining the admi- 
rable map made under the directions of Sir Edward Belcher, I 
had come to regard it as an extensive body of water and a good 
harbor ; but not until now, with its magnificent proportions be- 
fore me, had I formed an accurate conception of its vast capaci- 
ty, the numerous safe anchorages presented in every part, its 
navigability, its advantageous position, or the interesting scen- 
ery bordering it on all inland sides. The peninsula of Consi- 
guina stretched far into it on the left, the cape, though forming 
one of the headlands of the entrance, extending beyond our view 
to the northwest. On the right, the coast, commencing on the 
Nicaraguan shore, a mere rim of land, lost itself to the north- 
ward, the mountains of Honduras seeming to roll up from the 
water's edge rather than from the interior of a plain many leagues 
inland. Tigre Island and Sacate Grande, two lofty mountains 
rising out of the bosom of the bay, appearing mere blue mounds 
in the distance (and beyond which, in bongo navigation, one 
may sail a whole day), were pointed out to me by Antonio. It 



THE VOLCANO OF CONSIGUINA. 119 

would be safe to say that the whole mercantile fleet of Amer- 
ica might ride in security together in this great southern bay, 
inferior in no respect to that of San Francisco, and bordered by 
three states possessed of the greatest natural resources within 
the tropics, their hills stored with the richest mineral deposits in 
Spanish America. 

As we flew before the fresh breeze, the crew, stretched out in 
the bongo, and resigning themselves to the freedom of the hour, 
chanted some of the wild songs of the country, in which, besides 
the peculiar Spanish airs, I often detected a wild, inharmonious 
resemblance to the Indian lays. As the long swells rolled 
swiftly after us, Antonio would utter a loud whoop, not unlike 
the " hi yahP'' of a Bowery boy, and, casting a confident glance 
at the bending mast, bid his patron saint " soplar P with an ir- 
reverent addendum, I thought, not calculated to propitiate the 
holy personage addressed. A box from Chinandega was now 
opened, displaying a dainty collection of eatables, a large part of 
which quickly disappeared before the ravenous appetites of the 
crew. I won their good-will by making an equable division of 
these viands. There were catamales wrapped carefully with 
fresh corn husks ; roast chickens served up in plantain leaves ; 
salchichas, frijolitas ("flippers," or pan-cakes, with an inner 
lining of boiled beans), and more fruit than would last us a doz- 
en such voyages. At noon the breeze left us, when the sail was 
doused, the oars got out, and, after an hour's rowing, the bongo 
was anchored off" the great volcano of Consiguina. 

As the tide would not favor us for some hours-, I took my 
rifle, and, selecting two of the brightest-looking of the crew, 
waded on shore and started for the interior. The coast, trend- 
ing to the northwest, presents a long extent of sandy beach, 
which we followed until our progress was stopped by a small 
fresh stream called Agua Dulce, the waters of which are warm, 
and impregnated with volcanic substances.* Tracing this among 

* This stream is doubtless referred to by Master Wafei', who sailed for some 
time with Dampier, and parted with him at Realejo, whence he proceeded to the 
Baj of Fonseca, in the Bachelor's Delight, in 1685. He says : "Being in great 
want of Provisions while we lay here, we went ashore in order to supply our Ne 
cessities at a Beef-Estantion on the Continent to the South of the Cod of the 
Bay, which lay from the Landing-place about three Mile. On our way we were 
obliged to pass a hot River in an open Savannah, altho' we made some difficulty 



120 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

brambles and bushes mostly denuded of leaves, we reached an 
eminence standing to the southward of its bank, up which we 
scrambled, and surveyed the terrific effects of the great eruption 
of 1835, which tore the mountain to pieces, and for several days 
enveloped all Central America and the neighboring countries in 
ashes and smoke. This is described as the most violent and 
destructive eruption known in these regions within the memo- 
ry of man. 

In Tegucigalpa, many leagues inland, and thousands of feet 
above the sea, the city was darkened with showers of ashes. 
The bellowing of the mountain was heard in Guatemala, and 
the earth was shaken far into Mexico. So remarkable is this 
eruption considered, that the inhabitants date from it ; and I 
have frequently heard an event, birth, or death calculated as 
happening so many years before or after the great eruption of 
Consiguina. Before that time its peak was lofty, and the form 
of the volcano conical, like those of Central Nicaragua. It now 
presents the appearance of having been violently broken off. It 
stands equidistant between the bay and ocean, the peninsula 
on which it is situated being about twelve miles across. A 
scene of desolate grandeur grows upon the beholder who gazes 
upward toward the crater, of which no reliable account exists 
since the eruption. The height is estimated to be two thou- 
sand feet above the level of the sea, and the gradual slope from 
the bay toward the cone is clothed with impenetrable thicket, 
and the road intercepted by frightful ravines. These solitudes 
are .rarely visited, and abound in wild animals. My two com- 
panions traversed the ground with reluctance, and seemed to 
think the whole region accursed and dangerous. Vast deposits 
of lava and cinders thrown from the crater are strewed down to 
the water's edge. 

In .the following year, while passing by sea from this bay to 
San Juan del Sur, I ran my boat closely under the western 
coast, under Consiguina Point, which here presents a bold, white 

at it' by reason of its Heat. This River issued out from under a Hill ; but it was 
no Vulcan, tho' there are several on this coast. I had the curiosity to wade up 
the stream as far as I had Day-light to guide me. The Water was clear and 
shallow, but the Steams under the Hill were like those of a boiling Pot, and my 
Hair was wet with them. The River without the Hill reek'd for a great way." 
— A New Voyage and Description of the Isthmus of America, p. 190. 



THE COAST OF CONSIGUINA. 121 

rockj surface to the sea, and the deposits of lava extend quite 
to the ocean. Consiguina is not quite extinct, though no erup- 
tion has taken place since that of 1835. In December, 1852, a 
cloud of smoke issued from the crater, accompanied with low 
mutterings. An impalpable red dust fell in Amapala, Tigre 
Island, and along the coast of Honduras ; but the inhabitants 
feel no apprehension- of any future eruptions. A few white 
cranes stood silently upon the beach, almost among the ripples, 
which, from our position, seemed a snowy rim against the clear 
blue beyond. Our bongo lay motionless a few fathoms from 
the shore, with a wreath of smoke curling away from her bows, 
showins: that Rafael had at last learned to make coffee a la Cat- 
ifornia. A. monotonous lowing from a neighboring valley 
marked the vicinity of some lordly bull, roaming in undisturbed 
silence amid the woods and plains, but, with these exceptions, 
the place seemed deserted by all living things. The view in- 
cluded the Honduras mountains, the southern arm of Fonseca 
Bay, smooth as a mill-pond, the green streak of mangrove and 
willow skirting the opposite coast, and the great swamp forests 
toward the Estero Real from which we had just issued. Stretch- 
ing away inland from where we stood lay an inclined plain, 
slightly carpeted with new grass, and farther on patches of lava 
and scoria, bunches of small woods, and desolate, barren places 
on the distant mountain side. My men were fearful of tigers, 
which they said abounded here, and, though I was not unwill- 
ing to lose a day and make the ascent of Consiguina, the entire 
crew refused, and quoted the most reliable local authority on the 
subject of snakes and wild beasts. 

Returning to the shore, we found the tide still flowing, and 
the crew, pulling off their clothes, "tracked" the bongo along 
the coast, sometimes wading up to their necks in crossing the 
small creeks making into the bay. Knowing that alligators 
were plentiful in these waters, I was prepared to see one of tlie 
monsters rise among them from the mud, but the noise and 
splashing made by the men doubtless kept them away. A 
flock of veritable curlew flew over our heads, with their peculiar 
piping note, and in plumage and shape answering to the north- 
ern bird. These are found on the sea-coast, I believe, through- 
out Central America. In Fonseca Bay, also, they are very 



122 EXPLORATIONS m HONDURAS. 

plentiful, particularly on the flats of Sacate Grande. The 
stately pelican, with his bag-bill and immense wings, hovered 
slowly along the coast, ever and anon dropping heavily into the 
water, seizing his finny prey among the shoals of jumping fish. 
I threw over a line, but, after an hour's trial, had no success. 
Toward evening an easterly breeze sprung up, bringing with it 
the usual premonitors of a squall. The oars were taken in, all 
hands jumped on board, the great sail was aga,in set, and the 
bongo once more plunging along on her course. We still hug- 
ged the Consiguina shore until the ebb tide began to make, 
when, being now clear of the land, we shot out into the wide 
bay. Once past Cape Rosario, and we were, to all appearance, 
at sea. To leeward rolled the open Pacific, black with storm- 
clouds, while to windward and ahead, the horizon shut out by 
the gathering rain and mists, nothing could be seen but an ex- 
panse of tumbling water. 

The wind increased, until, at sundown, a heavy squall loom- 
ed blue and threatening close to windward. The sheet of the 
sail was tied and jammed with apparently inextricable knots 
around a bamboo cleet. The darkness and loud thunder-claps 
increased, and yet Antonio crouched in the stern like a super- 
annuated baboon, without making the least motion to shorten 
sail. I had made up my mind not to interfere with the bongo 
seamanship of these fellows, and as the wind struck us in a 
flurry of rain and spray, I followed the example of all hands, 
and dodged under the rail, knowing that in Central America to 
be wet without exercise is to take the calentura. The rain 
poured, the thunder rattled, the bongo staggered along in a 
smother of foam, and yet our jpatron disdained to reduce a 
stitch of canvas, until, with a tremendous lurch, the water 
commenced pouring in over the lee-side in little cascades. The 
crew and passengers squatted silently in the bottom of the bon- 
go, shivering with the wet. At every surge Antonio luffed her 
into the wind, and replied to my reiterated " cuidado r with a 
loud yell. The squall now burst upon us with increased fury ;. 
the view was shut out beyond thirty yards around us by the 
pouring rain. Antonio gave a hurried order to one of his men 
to haul down the sail as he lufifed her into the wind, but before 
the command could be executed she was nearly capsized. The 



CENTRAL AMERICAN SEAMANSHIP. 



123 





BONGO NAVIGATION IN FONSECA BAT. 



bongo was lialf full of water ; and, seeing my baggage swimming 
amid a wreck of boat's paraphernalia, I tliouglit it time to exer- 
cise some authority, especially as I had the most at stake. I 
was about grasping the tiller so that the patron might attend 
to the sheet, when she made a jump, sending him overboard back- 
ward from his seat. I endeavored to seize him, but he disap- 
peared in an instant, and, to my surprise, came up a moment 
afterward, hanging on tooth and nail to a piece of stray rope, the 
bongo towing him like a hooked dolphin. After a while we drag- 
ged him on board, when, having blown the water from his mouth, 
an appeal to the aguardiente bottle put him again to rights. 
By this time the sail had been lowered, and, the squall over, 
our boat was bailed out. Every thing was soaked and nearly 
ruined. 

As the weather cleared up, I observed that we had got far into 
the gulf. To the northwest lay the island of Mianguera, dimly 
discernible through the darkness, its tall, bluff banks covered 
with thick verdure, resembling the outlines of some gaunt old 
castle. Directly ahead, El Tigre reared its lofty proportions, 
but now appearing a mere shadow. A few stars showed them- 
selves among the clouds which hurried seaward, portending, as 



124 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

Antonio observed, " mucho viente en la noche,'''' But gradually 
the wind subsided, until we were once more becalmed under 
Mianguera. The tide being against us, the stone which served 
as an anchor was thrown overboard, and some arrangements 
were made for a few hours' sleep. We lay anchored between 
Mianguera and El Tigre during the night, a strong wind blow- 
ing from the N.E. causing the bongo to roll incessantly in the 
swell. Several times I awoke and surveyed the scene, which 
was one of peculiar interest. The bay abounds in vast shoals 
of sardines, which, coursing swiftly past our anchorage, pro- 
duced a phosphorescent light often witnessed at sea in calm 
weather. These great illuminated streaks shot around us in 
all directions, gleaming brightly as they approached the surface, 
or fading into an indistinct greenish tint when darting to a 
greater depth. At times a porpoise or puffing-pig explored his 
solitary way against the tide, or the distant cry of some water- 
bird came faintly through the darkness. To the westward, the 
surf along the shore of Conchaguita and Mianguerita kept up its 
ceaseless war. Away toward Nicaragua the horizon was illu- 
mined with flickering traces of lightning darting in faint lines 
along the sky, denoting the passage of some midnight thunder- 
storm amid the pine-clad mountains of Chontales. 

The excitement of the previous day, added to the dampness 
and crowded condition of the bongo, left me no alternative but 
to wrap my poncho closely about me, light my meerschaum, 
and so pass the night gazing through the misty darkness at the 
scenery, and listening to the heavy breathing of the sleepers. 
Morning gradually crept over the waters, and as the gray clouds 
which capped the eastern hills became tinted with the approach- 
ing dawn, I roused all hands, and, the anchor being drawn up, 
we took the favorable tide and headed once more for Tigre Isl- 
and. At this moment a fair wind, in a series of cat's-paws, came 
over the glassy surface of the water, which shortly increased to 
a breeze. Antonio took the helm ; the aguardiente bottle was 
again circulated ; Rafael renewed his coffee-making operations ; 
the sail bellied out to the freshening gale: the Masters Darda- 
no looked curiously toward their island home, which they had 
not seen for several years. Every thing was now in glorious 
contrast to the previous night. The long, dangerous sea had 



THE APPROACH TO EL TIGRE. 126 

subsided, leaving a clear blue expanse of water sparkling in 
the morning sunlight ; our clumsy old craft skimmed over the 
rippling waters with the speed of a race-horse. 

As I sipped the coffee between the comfortable whiffs of my 
pipe, I had an excellent opportunity to estimate the wonderful 
capacity of this noble bay. We had now shut out the ocean 
beyond the outer islands, and were cutting through an expanse 
of water, smooth as a trout-lake, but deep enough to float the 
largest ships in the world ; not a hidden rock or shoal in any 
direction; the, play as or beaches approachable with large ships 
to witliin pistol-shot of the rocks, and room to anchor or moor a 
thousand vessels, even in the comparative nook made by the four 
islands, which here form almost a completely land-locked circle 
of water, in which the frailest canoe might safely navigate. 

So rapidly did we shoot onward that I had scarcely time to 
note the quick succession of glorious views and picturesque 
scenery which, with every turn, opened their beauties. My 
companions, intent on cigarros and aguardiente, gazed listlessly 
at the prospect, and said nothing ; a course which pleased me 
best, as, without a kindred spirit to enjoy the splendors of na- 
ture, silence alone is the fittest accompaniment. We were soon 
under the shadows of El Tigre, which loomed three thousand 
feet above us, its steep sides loaded with verdure, from among 
which might be selected fifty varieties of valuable woods and 
plants growing wild and unclaimed. The same might be said 
of not only every island in this archipelago, but of the entire 
coast of the main land. 

It was not until we were closely coasting the gigantic masses 
of lava, skirting the island like a wall of jet its entire circum- 
ference, that I obtained an idea of its extent, while the summit, 
lost in a cloud-cap, seemed even loftier from the extreme base. 
The volcano rises in an exact cone as beautifully rounded as 
if erected by art, plainly indicating the manner of its formation. 
I traveled around it by land, and half the same distance by boat, 
several times, and neither on the shore nor at the summit, the 
ascent of which I made some months later, could a stone or 
rock of any kind be found ; the island, volcano, every thing, is 
of volcanic formation ; even the foundations of the houses, 
fences, and attempts at wharves are of this material. 



126 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

We rounded point after point, forming the numerous accessi- 
ble beaches of the island, until we entered the port of Amapala, 
a harbor within a harbor, the most secluded, accessible, shel- 
tered, and, in every respect, excellent port on the Pacific coast. 
Amapala is thirty-five miles from the mouth of the Estero Real, 
and eight from the nearest point of the main land. It is formed 
by an indentation {jplayd) on the northern side of the island, 
there being from three to six fathoms for a distance of two miles 
in the space formed by the islands of Esposescion, Sacate 
Grande, and El Tigre. Each of these have good landings in 
numerous places, but the western exposure renders them rough 
ports during heavy winds from that quarter, while Amapala, 
fronting toward the main land, may be entered with a canoe in 
the heaviest weather. But so equable and mild are the sea- 
sons in this region, that no long gales, like those in the north, 
are ever experienced, while any sea raised by a temporary high 
wind generally subsides with the abatement of the storm. 

As we neared the little town, my friends the Dardanos be- 
came greatly excited with the prospect of meeting their moth- 
er and sister, who stood at the door of a neat, American-looking 
cottage, waving scarfs toward the boat. Our bongo-men now 
donned their "along-shore toggery," consisting of a clean cotton 
shirt and trowsers ; the little white flag was hoisted, and the 
rifles and pistols of the entire party called into requisition for a 
grand feu de joie in honor of the ladies. The Sardinian and 
American flags were run up at the flag-staff of the cuartel, and 
the four-pounder, mounted in front of the door, was made to thun- 
der its welcome. It being nearly high water, the bongo dropped 
anchor ; and now, mounting the backs of two stout fellows who 
waded out to accommodate us, we were landed, and heartily wel- 
comed in good English by several gentlemen, among whom were 
Italians, French, Germans, and Americans, all employed on the 
island, some as store-keepers, others as clerks to the house of 
Dardano & Miiller, and the Americans owning a saw-mill in the 
eastern end of the town, which, in answer to the kind invitation 
of the proprietors, I promised to visit the following day. 

The first impression on landing at Tigre Island is its splen- 
did facilities for fortification, and the formation of a great central 
commercial depot from which to command the trade of the three 



RECEPTION AT AMAPALA. 127 

states bordering on the Bay of Fonseca. Its resources fully 
developed, Amapala might be made the most important port on 
the Pacific south of San Francisco. In 1850, Mr. E. G. Squier, 
during his chargeship, forwarded a series of dispatches to the 
U. S. government, in which he advocated the advantages of en- 
tering into negotiatons with Honduras for the establishment of 
a naval station at Amapala. Should this plan be adopted, the 
yearly-increasing means of communication between California 
and the eastern states would soon place a U. S. Pacific squadron 
within seven days of Washington. With the construction of 
the contemplated Honduras rail-road, and the appliances of tele- 
graphs and steamers, government orders of the most vital im- 
portance to the nation could be transmitted to the Pacific squad- 
ron in three and a half days. The town is now the principal, 
or, rather, only real port where large vessels or steamers may 
anchor and discharge on the Pacific coast of the three republics 
of Honduras, Salvador, or Nicaragua. 

A short walk through a collection of semi- American dwellings 
brought us to the house of Senor Dardano, where we found the 
ladies and our bongo companions exchanging the news. After 
a cordial reception at the hands of the party, comfortable quar- 
ters were established for me at the house of Mr. Miiller near by. 
Don Carlos was expected with two daughters from Tegucigalpa, 
on their way from the United States by the way of Omoa and 
Comayagua. Having letters of introduction to him, I determ- 
ined not to commence my journey into the interior of Honduras 
without obtaining information from a gentleman whose thirty 
years' residence in the country enabled him to impart valuable 
advice and information respecting political and other matters. 

On the evening after my arrival, a sense of dizziness, with 
quickened pulse and intense headache, warned me that my fre- 
quent wettings in the Bay of Fonseca by rains and tide were 
not to pass without the usual penalty of calentura, which, up to 
this time, my good constitution seemed to have bid defiance to. 
Few escape this scourge, which in intertropical regions, especial- 
ly on the coast lowlands, is almost certain to overtake the for- 
eigner. I was well fortified with quinine and other medicines, 
furnished me by my good friend the doctor at Chinandega, 
which, with the kind attentions of my hostess and her family. 



128 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

at last put an end to the disease, but not until its eifects had 
left me pallid and exhausted, and bearing the peculiar cadaver- 
ous hue of the fever-stricken stranger. The attack is usually 
of one type along the Central American coast, but is admitted 
by all to be far less dangerous and virulent on the Pacific than 
on the Atlantic side. The tertiana most prevails ; its effects 
are prostrating in the extreme, and the patient at last, strug- 
gling again into daylight and air, experiences a giddy, languid 
sensation, as if issuing from a fainting-fit. The remedies are 
simple, easily obtained in the towns, and consist of quinine and 
purgatives. Many superstitions exist as to the violence of the 
fever being affected by the changes of the moon, the height of 
the tide, direction of the wind, and time of attack. Certain rules 
are usually enforced, such as abstaining from washing the hands 
or face during the fever, the maxim used in reply to a doubt of 
this last treatment being, " Better be dirty above ground than 
clean under it!" a fact few are disposed to dispute, and one 
which the old nurses of the country always repeat, while the 
patient is denied the use of water except to drink sparingly. 
During this my first illness in Central America, I received such 
attentions at the hands of my hospitable entertainers as I had 
hardly dared hope for when leaving home for a journey among 
strangers, and those whom I had been prepared to regard as 
semi-civilized and ignorant. • Physician I had none ; and after- 
experience taught me that the less the foreigner has to do with 
the native doctor, the longer may be his life lease. I often had 
occasion to witness the blind blundering and absurd practice of 
the Central American medico, whose quackery, equal to that of 
the veriest American empiric, was rendered all the more danger- 
ous from lacking the example of better-informed practitioners, 
and the intelligence to benefit from experience. 

Once up from my sick-couch, where, in the silence of the live- 
long day, I had ample leisure to digest vxj plans for the future, 
and I issued forth into the busy little world of Tigre Island 
with additional zest to enjoy the beautiful scenery for which it 
has ever been celebrated. A volume might be written descrip- 
tive of the advantageous situation of the island ; its remarkable 
resources, agricultural and commercial ; the many acres of val- 
uable woods and precious plants, roots, and shrubs growing 



COMIVIERCIAL IMPORTANCE OF AMAPALA. 129 

throughout its broad expanse. The island itself is capable of 
sustaining, on the level lands contained between the jplayas and 
the base of the volcano rising from its centre, a population of 
twenty thousand people. The town of Amapala, situated on 
the eastern j!?^a2/a, stretches back over a rolling plain, gradually 
ascending toward the slope of the mountain, and extends a dis- 
tance of three quarters of a mile along the harbor. Its com- 
manding military position, the general salubrity of the climate, 
and the future commerce, of which approaching events seem to 
denote this place as the key, point to Tigre Island as destined 
to become, ere long, an important and wealthy emporium. 

The adjacent coasts offer facilities for the raising of untold 
quantities of the produce of all climates, from the cereal grains 
of the north to the cacao, sugar, and indigo of the tropics. 
Such is the diversity of the country, that in a day one may de- 
scend from the cool, grain-growing uplands in some portions of 
Salvador and Honduras into regions teeming with the rarest 
tropical plants. Castellon referred with all the zeal of a repub- 
lican enthusiast to his plan of constructing a rail-road from some 
point on the western shore of Lake Nicaragua to the head of 
navigation of the Estero Real, to connect by ocean steamers with 
the fine port of Amapala; a scheme which, though less feasible 
than other proposed routes, is not an impracticable one, and has, 
since my conversation with Castellon on the subject, been seri- 
ously contemplated by a succeeding administration. 

The adjacent republics bordering on the Bay of Fonseca form 
also one of the richest mineral districts in the world, the re- 
sources of which, save the occasional exports from the Atlantic 
coast via Truxillo, Omoa, and Balize, have, until the discovery 
of California and the consequent opening of the various routes 
of travel, been almost hidden from the world. The agricultural 
products of these republics are yet unknown except to a few 
foreigners, who have crossed the continent at these points, and 
those whom the love of adventure has drawn to Central Amer- 
ica during the past twelve months. These alone are such as 
to furnish the basis of a large trading town at Amapala, from 
which the large consuming population in the interior could be 
supplied. Amapala is the only port where large vessels can 
securely and advantageously anchor. The other islands of this 

I 



130 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

archipelago are uninhabitalble, or so environed with reefs and ' 
rocks as to be useless for the purposes of commerce. This su- 
periority was early noticed by Don Carlos Dardano, an Italian 
merchant, who, marrying a lady of Tegucigalpa, became entitled 
to all the privileges of citizenship, and in 1846 obtained from 
the government of Honduras a grant of several caballerias of 
land on condition that he should clear a certain space of ground, 
establish a trading-post, and make it his place of residence. 
The settlement of Amapala was thus commenced, and created a 
free port by the government for ten years. Under the energetic 
exertions of Senor Dardano, the town became at last a rival of 
La Union, the principal port of San Salvador on the northern 
border of the bay, and is now the seat of a considerable local 
traffic, which is often increased by the arrival of foreign vessels, 
discharging at this point the goods intended for trade with the 
interior. Considerable jealousy has arisen between the mer- 
chants of San Salvador and Tigre Island in consequence, but 
the advantages of Amapala over the shallow, secluded port of 
La Union are too apparent to need repetition. 

Here, too, among several discretional places, may be located 
the terminus of the Honduras inter-oceanic rail-road, which, com- 
mencing on the Caribbean Sea, is designed to pass through the 
beautiful vaUey of Comayagua, a distance of one hundred and 
forty-eight miles, and with an average grade, as the report of the 
surveys of Mr. E. G. Squier states, of only twenty-eight feet to 
the mile. While Panama and Nicaragua were early made the 
field of American enterprise for the establishment of an inter- 
oceanie communication, it is somewhat singular that speedier at- 
tention was not directed to this route to the Pacific, which is 
shorter than any other, not excepting that of Tehuantepec, aijd 
offers facilities for the construction of an inter-oceanic rail-road 
not exceeded or equaled by any other. The terms of the char- 
ter obtained by Mr. Squier from the supreme government are 
the best proof of the liberality of Honduras in these respects, 
and the earnest desire she has of opening up the resources of the 
country. Extraordinary inducements are ofiered for the further- 
ing of this great enterprise, one of the principal of which is the 
existence of safe and capacious harbors at either terminus (an 
.advantage not possessed by the Tehuantepec route), and the com- 



THE INTER-OCEANIC RAIL-ROAD. I3I 

parative small amount of grading and bridging to be done. Not 
only these facts, but the bare existence of the route, has remain- 
ed, until recently, unknown abroad, save by those iiiterested in 
the project. The most violent opponents of American influence 
in Honduras, and those whose political prejudices have instigated 
them to assail the project at the risk of the progress of the coun- 
try, admit that the completion of the proposed rail-road would at 
once place the republic in advance of all other Spanish-Ameri- 
can states. The road could be extended across the southern end 
of Sacate Grande, and, crossing a narrow and shallow reef be- 
tween the two islands, be made to terminate at Tigre Island, 
where abundant material is found for the construction of wharves, 
at which the largest steamers in the world might tie up in per- 
fect security. The attention now being turned toward Central 
America has inspired the people of Honduras with renewed 
hope, and the ultimate completion of the rail-road is anxiously 
looked for. Its effects upon the prosperity of the country would 
be incalculable, while Amapala would spring suddenly into a 
position of commercial importance rivaling that of any other 
port south of San Francisco. 

The island, excepting the few cleared level spaces near the 
shores, is densely wooded, and an abundance of game may be 
found by an expert huntsman. Deer, and several of the small- 
er tropical animals, are frequently shot, and in the earlier days 
of the settlement tigers were often seen among the jungle, crash- 
ing away from the intruder, and springing out of sight. These 
have been nearly all shot off; but on some of the eastern play as 
they are yet occasionally met with, and, at long intervals, the re- 
mains of a defunct cow, torn to pieces in the woods, prove that 
these animals are not yet exterminated. When Senor Dardano 
settled upon the island, deer frequently came within pistol-shot 
of his house. 

Hearing so much of the game and desiring to see the western 
part of the island, I employed a wide-awake looking native, who 
enjoyed the reputation of a successful hunter, to accompany me 
on a tour of exploration. My object was principally to view the 
scenery, and ascertain the extent of available land radiating from 
the base of the volcano. On the day previous to my antici- 
pated ramble I obtained an excellent shot-gun from a German 



132 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

acquaintance, which I gave Nolberto to carry, reserving my rifle 
for my own use. The dawn was faintly streaking the eastern 
horizon and tinting the mountains of Choluteca when I felt my 
arm touched, and the low voice of Rafael warning me that my 
guide was waiting. I invariably slept in a hammock, as much 
for the coolness of this style of bed as to avoid the regiments 
of fleas which seem to haunt the steps of the Spanish race. I 
looked out, and found my faithful attendant waiting patiently be- 
side the hammock, holding a cup of hot coffee " con leche^'' and 
my meerschaum preparatory to the tramp. These dispatched, 
we hastily donned our hunting gear and sallied out into the 
dark, the silence unbroken except by the croaking of night ani- 
mals and the humming of countless insects. From some izx- 
sm&j playa the bark of the watch-dog came faintly through the 
morning air, and at intervals the tiny ripple of the flood tide 
broke softly along the beach. Nolberto lit a cigarro, and, tak- 
ing the lead, we were quickly beyond the precincts of the town, 
and plunged into a labyrinth of crooked paths, winding among 
the shrubbery, and requiring the greatest caution to avoid stum- 
bling over the many half-buried masses of lava, which, rolling 
down the sides of the volcano, have become imbedded in the 
soil. At my desire, my guide first directed his steps toward a 
hill situated about a mile from the town, and rising to an ele- 
vation of about six hundred feet above the' surrounding plain. 

We scrambled for half an hour among intricate cattle-paths, 
until, reaching the foot of the hill, we struggled up and gained 
the summit just as the sun shot up from a sea of golden clouds 
above the mountains to the eastward. The view from this point 
is necessarily limited, and embraces only the northern and west- 
ern portions of the bay ; that from the summit of the volcano, 
which reared its head two thousand feet above us, is one of the 
finest in the Western world. Some months afterward, when I 
made its ascent in company with a few friends, the party unani- 
mously voted this view to be the most extensive and magnif- 
icent they had ever witnessed. From this position, however, the 
scene was interesting and striking, affording a glimpse of the 
mountain scenery of San Salvador and Honduras, and seaward 
a horizon of blue water, indistinct in the distance with the morn- 
ing mists, and roaring in banks of foam along the rocky barriers 



A RAMBLE IN THE INTERIOR. 133 

below. Beneath us lay a small lake, covering a space of a few 
acres, and now coated with a thick mass of moss and parasitical 
plants, some of which, taking root in the bottom of the lake, 
climbed among the surrounding trees. 

On the small space of table-land forming the top of the hill 
are traces of forts erected by the buccaneers of the seventeenth 
century. They could scarcely have selected a fitter retreat, the 
port offering ample shelter for their vessels, which were over- 
looked and protected by the fort. Here doubtless, in the old 
days of the Jlihusteros, the pirates of the Pacific held their coun- 
cils, and from this point planned many of their marauding de- 
scents upon the neighboring coasts. Here the English are said 
to have erected a battery, and from this height their flag floated 
in 1849, at which time they seized and claimed Tigre Island. 
Don Carlos Dardano gave me a detailed account of the opera- 
tions of the British at Amapala, in which it appeared that, in an 
evil hour, he had accepted the control of the island under the 
usurpers, and, in consequence, had lost favor with the Honduras 
government upon its restoration to its legitimate owners. 

A considerable expanse of level land lies beneath the hill, and 
a fine fertile valley is formed by this elevation and the slope of 
the volcano. Amid the foliage appeared the low adobe or branch 
huts of the islanders, most of whom gain a scanty livelihood by 
cultivating a small patch of ground, or engage in the various 
avocations of the neighboring settlement. After taking a long 
gaze at the romantic scenery spread beyond and beneath us, we 
resumed our tramp toward a secluded piece of woodland on the 
western shore of the island, where deer were said to abound. 
The rains of the previous day had imparted a wholesome fresh- 
ness to the atmosphere, which, amid the shady dells through 
which we made our way, seemed to approximate to the invigor- 
ating quality of a spring morning in New England. Our way 
led around the western end of the island, and half an hour's 
traveling brought us into a deep forest of ceihas, guapinoles, and 
palms so dense that we made our way only by thrusting aside 
the rank and matted undergrowth. Presently we came to a 
level cleared space, and Nolberto having intimated that we 
might expect game here, we crept softly along toward the brink 
of a ravine, through which a rivulet flowed quietly toward the 



134 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

ocean. The tracks newly -imprinted in the damp soil gave 
token that we were in the vicinity of deer. We seated ourselves 
on a rock, and, as the sun had now "begun to penetrate the sur- 
rounding woods, my companions produced a cotton cloth filled 
with eatables, and commenced spreading them out, when, turn- 
ing toward a copse twenty yards distant, my eyes met those of 
a beautiful doe, standing erect, and gazing with silent wonder 
upon our movements. Without uttering a word to my com- 
panions, who, as yet, were unconscious of the presence of game, 
I brought down my rifle, startling them with its sharp ring, as, 
at the same moment, the animal disappeared in the woods. 
Dropping the table paraphernalia, my men sprang after her, and 
in a few moments their shouts told me the bullet .had done its 
work. Rafael was dispatched to town for a horse, while we cut 
up the game in readiness for his return. Sending him back 
with his load, Nolberto and myself continued the hunt. 

As we penetrated the glades the game increased ; but, though 
we had several capital opportunities, our luck had departed. 
The deer on Tigre Island are similar to those of the main land, 
and are of the small, fallow species. In the interior they are 
found in herds, so plentiful, indeed, in some sections, that labor- 
ers engaging to work on plantations are represented to have a 
special understanding with the proprietor of the estate that the 
food shall be beef, and not venison. 

Antelopes are said to abound, though their existence is doubt- 
ed by some writers on Central America. What is called the 
mountain antelope is common in the interior, but this animal is 
doubtless often confounded with the fallow deer. A sudden 
stirring among the foliage on the lonely mountain road often de- 
notes their proximity to the traveler. Henderson mentions the 
gazelle as inhabiting the woodlands of Balize, which, he says, 
has been considered the Dorcas^ or barbarian antelope of Linnas- 
us. It is about half the size of the deer. 

We rounded the thickly-wooded slope of the volcano, and 
emerging, after an hour's walk, into an open space carpeted with 
grass and low, tangled vines, we heard, coming faintly through 
the forest, the roar of the ocean as it broke upon the southern 
beach. Half an hour's scrambling among briers and dark thick- 
ets brought us to the surf, now tumbling in with long, regular 



PLAYA BRAVO. 135 

swells. Here we traced the distant outline of the volcano of 
Consiguina, its ragged sides bristling against the sky, while on 
the opposite side, to the northward, the great headland of San 
Salvador, Conchagua, reared its head, the two forming a resem- 
blance to the Pillars of Hercules, or, more aptly, to the Golden 
Gate. From this position, one is at once struck with the simi- 
larity of scenery and formation between the bays of Fonseca and 
San Francisco. It needs but the splash of the steamer beating 
these silent waters into sparkling foam to complete the likeness. 

As we stood on the beach, my attention was attracted to nu- 
merous holes in the sand, which, on examining, I found to be 
turtles' nests. One of these we laid siege to, and after scraping 
away near half a ton of sand, the carefully-concealed treasure 
began to appear. They were about the size of hens' eggs, but of 
a soft consistency. They were deposited with great care, each 
egg being surrounded with a close covering of sand, and so placed 
as not to come in contact with each other. After thirty or for- 
ty had been dragged forth, Nolberto assumed my place, and, 
baring his arm, pulled them out, one by one, until a hundred 
and nineteen were exposed to view. He said they were never 
eaten on the island, and humanely recommended me to let him 
cover them up again, which he did with commendable care. I 
learned, however, on the following day, that the abominable 
rogue had returned and robbed the nest, to an egg, for his own 
private eating. They are really excellent, as I afterward ascer- 
tained by frequent trial. The name of the beach upon which 
we stood was the Play a JBravo. It is inaccessible for boats. 

We found wild cattle and deer trail extending quite down to 
the ocean, and following the bank of a stream into some un- 
frequented part of the interior. We returned by a new path, 
leading around the base of the mountain, which at every mo- 
ment showed its lofty head among the clouds as we scrambled 
through the shrubbery. On our way we were followed by a 
flock oiurracas, a species of blue magpie, with a bill and tongue 
somewhat resembling the parrot. One of them, which I wound- 
ed, uttered a continuous scream, drawing his comrades close 
around us. At times they would swoop down almost to within 
arms' length, regard us fiercely for a moment, and then, whirling 
away to a neighboring branch, sit with fluttering wings and 



136 



EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 



open beaks, responding to the cries of their wounded compan- 
ion. I did not see this bird in the highlands of the continent, 
and presume from that fact that they are confined to the coast. 
The juacamalla, decked in his burning plumage, the parrot in 
several varieties, the oripendole^ with his gay dress, and saucy, 
dancing motion as he cuts through the air ; the blue heron, the 
purple-breasted mourning dove, the sejisonte, and the nightin- 
gale, are all found in the woods of Tigre Island. The juaca- 
malla, a species of the macaw, is the dandy j)ar excellence of 

the Central American 
forest. His flashy liv- 
ery, always heralded 
by the harsh scream 
of its owner, may be 
seen from afar amid 
the topmost branches 
of the largest trees, 
where he sits coquet- 
tishly arranging his 
feathers, or indulging 
in his favorite pastime 
of hanging from some 
giddy limb with his 
head down, screaming 
in reply to a distant 
acquaintance, or anx- 
iously surveying the prospect below. The sensonte (cien sonta, 
or bird of a hundred songs) is the veritable American mocking- 
bird. Nothing can surpass his delicious notes. In shape, plum- 
age, habits, and general appearance he is scarcely to be distin- 
guished from the Northern bird. The bill is a trifle longer, and 
the throat a little more full. One which I have in my room as 
I write was given me, with two others, in Amapala during my 
first visit there. Two did not survive the voyage to California. 
The remaining one has now attained his full voice and plumage, 
and, besides possessing all the notes of the American mocking- 
bird, has brought with him some foreign airs never heard out 
of the tropics. Among all feathered songsters, give me the 
Central American sensonte for richness and variety. I have oft- 




THB JUACAMALLA. 



COMMERCE OF TIGRE ISLAifD. I37 

en observed these graceful creatures bathing at some quiet rill 
in Olancho, where they particularly abound. Here they stand 
daintily among the clean pebbles, and take turns in diving into 
the brook, splashing boldly about with a quick flutter of wings, 
and uttering an occasional delighted squeak. At one place 
where I used to resort at morning for a similar purpose, I was 
always certain of a mocking-bird concert from among the neigh- 
boring foliage. 

It was not until my rambles about the island enabled me to 
view the scenery from numerous elevations that I obtained an 
adequate idea of the extent of open, undulating country it con- 
tains, sloping away from the base of the volcano into fertile 
plains capable of sustaining many thousands of people. The 
soil is extremely rich, and covered during the greater part of the 
year with a hundred varieties of herbage and bushes. Here the 
Peruvian gum — gum Arabic — and other species of the acacia 
flourish. The wild ^bc^q, papaya, lime, mamaya, lobelia, fus- 
tic, mango, palm (of many varieties), guapinol, mahogany, ron 
Ton, may be pointed out in the woods, unclaimed and uncared 
for. Not a thousandth part of the arable land of the island is 
under cultivation ; and yet, with an energetic race, such as our 
own earnest and progressive people, to inhabit and improve the 
three rich republics bordering upon Fonseca Bay, Tigre Island 
could hardly fail to become, in more respects than one, the most 
important post on the Pacific. 

Amapala differs from every other Central American town in 
the industry exhibited by its inhabitants, and in this respect 
bears a stronger resemblance to an American settlement than 
any other I visited. Here is the only saw-mill on the Pacific 
shore of Honduras. It is owned by two enterprising Ameri- 
cans, who imported the machinery from New York, originally 
for the purpose of establishing a cotton manufactory in San 
Miguel, San Salvador. The enterprise fell through for want of 
capital and labor, after which the machinery was brought to 
Amapala, where for two years it has done good service in con- 
verting into boards the timber from the neighboring coasts. The 
principal market is Callao. A Peruvian brig was loading in 
the harbor during my first visit. The lumber, most of which 
is cedar of a very superior quality, brings from |35 to $45 per 



138 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

thousand. The towns surrounding the baj, and for some dis- 
tance into the interior, are also an unfailing market. But one 
run of saws was in operation, which the proprietors said sup- 
plied the demand. The logs are cut Tbj whipsaws in the mouth 
of the Choluteca and Goascoran rivers, and are rafted by bongo 
power to the mill, where there is sufficient depth of water to ad- 
mit them quite to the platform. Here the drag-chain takes the 
logs at once into the mill. The principal amusement at Ama- 
pala is to stroll over to la maquina and gaze at the Titanic 
force of steam-power. 

The proprietors had many difficulties to contend with, such 
as government restrictions, prohibitions, delays, suspicions, and 
jealousies. On the entrance of Cabanas into the presidency, 
the necessary documents were at once passed. During this 
visit at Amapala, the thermometer indicated in the shade at no 
time above 99°, and in the early morning I found it to reach 
78°. The average temperature during the day was 92°. The 
town is so situated as to receive the sea-breeze, which sets in 
at ten o'clock A.M., and continues until toward evening, when 
the land-breeze, at first faintly indicated, increases, and before 
night grows into the never-failing chubasco. At this hour very 
heavy clouds blow rapidly up from the southward, and the rain 
is usually of great violence. The climate of the island is con- 
sidered healthy, the fevers of the country being of a less virulent 
type than on the adjoining coast. No foreigner, however, need 
expect to escape the fever in Central America even with the 
greatest degree of care. 

With the exception of two or three shingled and clap-board- 
ed dwellings, the houses of Amapala are similar to those of other 
small Central American towns. Some few are of adobe, but the 
greater part of cane and branches. The business of the place at 
the time of my visit was confined to the small trade of the house 
of Dardano and Miiller. This consisted of osnaburgs, drillings, 
hardware, dry goods, and general articles of European manufac- 
ture, which were received in exchange for hides, deer-skins, ca- 
cao, sugar, vanilla, indigo, and a few other products of the neigh- 
boring coast, but in very small quantities. The trade was ex- 
tremely limited and jealously divided with the adjacent port of 
La Union in San Salvador. No regular exchange can be estab- 



TIGER-HUNTING ON SACATE GRANDE. I39 

lished at Tigre Island until the government of the country be- 
comes firmly fixed, and an end put to the oft-recurring revolu- 
tions. 



CHAPTER VII. 



A Tiger-hunt on Sacate Grande. — Esposescion. — Oysters. — Fish. — Alligators. — 
A Swimming Escape. — Life in Amapala. — Ai-rival of Don Carlos and Fami- 
ly. — Grand Festivities. — Preparations for Departure. — "Hunying up" a Bon- 
go-man. — Another Night in the Bay. — La Brea. — Nocturnal Visitors. — A 
Night Ramble. — Resolutions for the future. — The Road to Nacaome. — Agua 
Caliente. — Iguanas. — Nacaome. — La Senora Caret. — Visiting. — A Review. — 
Climate. — An Old Speculator. — Honduras Coal-mines. — Pastimes. — New 
method of expelling Dogs, — Demand for Medical Services. — A foreign "Med- 
ico," — A Serenade. 

Sacate Grande is the name of a mountainous island stand- 
ing a few miles north of El Tigre, and separated from the main 
land by a channel which, I believe, is quite dry at extreme low 
tides. On a clear, still morning, my friend Don Julio knocked 
at my room door with an invitatioii to join a tiger-hunt to take 
place on that day. The announcement, coupled as it was with 
visions of exciting sport and a dash of romantic adventure, was 
enough to send me out of my hammock at a leap. I dressed in 
a trice, and had barely time to swallow the coffee which Rafael 
had in readiness for me, when a loud call from my companion 
warned me that, in this instance at least, the usual Spanish 
poco a jpoco^ i. e., take it easy, of Central America was to be dis- 
carded. Seizing my rifle and accoutrements, I had only time to 
leap into the bongo, moored off the warehouse, and join the par- 
ty of five it contained, ere the anchor was jerked on board, and, 
spreading the huge sail, we sped away toward the green wood- 
land forming the southern slope of the island, where tigers were 
fierce and plenty. Once under way, and I had time to study 
my companions. Don Julio was a florid-faced German, an en- 
thusiastic Nimrod, and speaking English like a native. My 
former indefatigable guide in the Playa Bravo expedition, and 
two tigreros, or tiger-hunters, from the highlands of Nicaragua, 
completed the party. For some days past had they been pre- 
paring lor a hunt, and were excited to unwonted activity by the 



140 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

news received over night through a young native from the isl- 
and, who now, squatting in the bows of the dug-out, gazed with 
earnest eyes upon the preparations. This fellow occupied a 
small hut in a ravine near the western shore of Sacate Grande, 
where he was employed by a Salvadorean family to tend the 
cattle, which, as their property, roam over the island. On the 
night previous a young heifer had been destroyed, and he had 
tracked the tiger to a dense thicket on the borders of a stream 
emptying into the bay. All this was told by the voluble Nol- 
berto, who looked eagerly forward to the chase. Three ugly but 
intelligent-looking dogs patiently awaited the coming contest. 

Rounding the western point of the island, a shallow little bay 
lay before us, into which the bow was turned, and with the help 
of the oars we were soon ashore, and, following the lead of our 
boy-guide, entered his rude chosa, or cabin, where he explained 
the details of the cattle-killing, and offered to direct us to the 
place to which he had tracked them. The Central American 
tiger is one of the most formidable animals on the continent, 
and often measures seven feet in length. The strength of the 
creature is such that a single well-directed spring suffices to 
throw down a cow, or, if he fails in the first attempt, leaping 
upon the back of the victim, he fastens his fangs into the throat 
and sucks its life-blood. In Nicaragua the cattle estates suffer 
greatly from them, and in Olancho and Yoro, in Honduras, a 
bounty is paid by the local government for their destruction. 
Hunters and vaqueros are sometimes torn and killed by tigers, 
and thus there seems to have grown up a settled animosity be- 
tween them. 

These stories, which, having heard from more reliable sources, 
I could believe, were now exaggerated by the excited crowd, and 
it may be well imagined that one whose previous sporting had 
been mainly confined to quail and snipe shooting, with an occa- 
sional rifle-crack at a coyote or antelope in California, entered 
this new and rather perilous arena with some trepidation. Mine 
was the only rifle in the party, the rest being armed with En- 
glish gTins, and excepting that of the German, sorry enough weap- 
ons for such service. The arrangements being made, each 
shouldered his piece, and, taking a muddy cattle-trail leading 
among low, stunted shrubbery, not unlike the whortleberry bush 



COMING TO CLOSE QUARTERS. 141 

of the JSToi-tli, we proceeded in single file toward the jungle des- 
ignated by our guide, and which he pointed out in a wooded ra- 
vine on a rising ground beyond. After a few minutes' walk, 
our boy stopped and showed us the tracks of the beast, and far- 
ther on we came to a break in the bushes, where, after killing 
the heifer, he had dragged the body through the underbrush. 
The tracks were of such formidable dimensions that, together 
with my own inexperience and want of faith in the craft of my 
companions, I found my tiger-hunting mania growing moment- 
arily less as the probability of his appearing became more cer- 
tain. 

The two boys were now sent across the ravine with directions 
to trace the footprints, and ascertain if his tigership had ascend- 
ed the hill beyond, a fact which the spongy nature of the ravine 
would enable them to detect at once. In a few minutes they 
returned with the intelligence that he had not passed that way 
since the previous night ; and as the traces we had seen thus far 
showed his steps to have been into the ravine, we were now cer- 
tain of his locality. How to dislodge him was the next point. 
The two tigreros showed no disposition to enter the place where 
the soft, yielding soil offered no chance to escape before the leaps 
of the velvet-footed enemy. Up to this time the dogs had been 
kept with a contrivance of raw-hide slips around their noses by 
way of muzzles. They were shaggy, diminutive creatures, with 
none of the usual yelping enthusiasm shown by the canine race 
when about attacking in company with man a common enemy. 
At a gesture and a half-uttered s — s — st, all their latent fury 
seemed concentrated in their flaming eyes. They knew their 
work was about to commence. The apparent apathy gave place 
to savage howls and gnashing of jaws. My respect for them 
began to increase. At the removal of the muzzles, the three 
disappeared into the thicket. The tigreros awaited the result 
with staring eyes and motionless attitudes. A sense of ap- 
proaching danger stole over me in spite of my efforts to conceal 
it, and though I asked hurriedly if the animal would make his 
appearance in our direction, the response of my nearest neighbor 
was only an unintelligible whisper. The sound of the dogs as 
they vanished in the woods was silenced for a moment, but im- 
mediately we heard a terrific dying yell, telling too plainly the 



142 ^EXPIOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

fate of one. Then came a continuous snarl and roar, mingled 
with the quick bark of the remaining dogs and, the crashing of 
underbrush. A moment after, the bushes near a small gully be- 
came violently agitated. I fixed my eyes intently on the spot, 
involuntarily edging away from the place, springing back in 
alarm as the yielding bushes made room for the tiger, who threw 
himself clear of the copse with a light, cat-like leap, and stood a 
moment in savage uncertainty whether to retreat again into the 
jungle or face the human foes who environed him. The dogs 
followed close upon his heels. The whole aifair occupied but a 
moment. I remember the whiskered jaws, the fierce, gleaming- 
eye, the velvety fur, the nervous twitching of the curling tail, the 
panting of the dun-colored belly, as the beast, directing his gaze 
upon the place where Nolberto and myself were standing, made 
a rapid bound toward us. My first impulse was to fire ; but a 
strange fascination, which I am unable to account for, prevent- 
ed me. 

" Cuidado ! jpor Dios cuidado .^" shouted the others, while, 
at the same time, three shots rang in my ears. 

The next moment I was on my face at full length, and the 
tiger stretched upon the ground within four feet of me, creating 
a whirlwind of grass and torn sod in his dying struggles. As 
he sprang forward I had started from his path, and, stumbling, 
fell in the very spot where, but for the bullets that arrested his 
career, he must in another moment have stood. 

I was not long in regaining my feet and lodging a rifle bullet 
in his head, which nearly finished him. The tigreros now ap- 
proached, and deliberately searched his heart with their glitter- 
ing cuchillos, or butcher-knives. A long, gasping yawn, a con- 
vulsive play of the tail, and all was over. They wiped their 
knives on his glossy coat, and one, venturing into the copse, 
dragged out the mangled body of the dog. Not the mark of a 
tooth was to be found, but apparently one blow of the great 
paw, bristling with claws, had disemboweled him. The tiger 
measured six feet four inches from the rump-bone to the tip of 
the nose, and was admitted by all to be one of the largest ever 
killed on the island. The dogs evinced none of the usual de- 
sire to tear the body or yelp around it, but, smelling at the 
wounds, skulked stealthily about, eyeing the tigreros. Half an 



OYSTEKS ON ESPOSESCION. 143 

hour sufficed to take off the skin ; it was thrown into the Ibot- 
tom of the bongo, after which, thanks to the providence of Nol- 
berto, a palatable breakfast was spread in the hut, to which all 
paid their respects. This was my first tiger-hunt, and, though 
ray companions were sure there was a female with cubs in the 
vicinity, and offered to renew the sport on the following day, I 
was content to make this my last adventure of the kind on Sa- 
cate Grande. 

Some of the finest cattle in the state are found grazing here. 
The island is the property of two Salvadorean families, who 
value the land and cattle at $40,000. A medicinal spring ex- 
ists on the island, to which some of the inhabitants of the coast 
towns attribute miraculous properties. This spring is said to 
have made its appearance during the great eruption of Consi- 
guina in 1835. Sacate Grande has been mentioned as the ter- 
minus of the proposed Honduras Inter-oceanic Rail-road, but 
its lack of a port like that of Amapala will always prevent 
its being used for that purpose. After our meal of tortillas, 
coffee, and roast chicken, we re-entered the bongo and rowed 
over to the adjacent island of Esposescion, where the finest 
oysters in the bay are found in inexhaustible quantities. At 
low tide our men started out, and in half an hour had loaded 
the bongo with these worshipful shell-fish. The feast we aft- 
erward made on them at El Tigre forever disabused my mind 
of the idea that good oysters can only be obtained outside the 
tropics. For fatness and flavor, I have never eaten better in 
the United States. 

With a fair wind and a bongo-load of oysters, we once more 
headed for Amapala, and as we lowered our sail and prepared 
to land, the inevitable and merciless chubasco was upon us with 
a torrent of rain, drenching us to the skin. The Bay of Fon- 
seca is not only rich in shell-fish, but its waters literally swarm 
with a variety of delicious pan and other fish, whose names, 
even, are unknown. During two visits of several weeks, each 
at different seasons, I saw no piscatory attempt made by the 
Amapalans, and the only fish eaten while I was on the island 
were the product of a few hours with hook and line in a small 
bongo, in company with my servant, who did little else than 
take the fish from my hook and hand me bait. Sturgeon and 



144 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

sharks abound, but besides, there are tomcod, perch, rock-fish 
(in the outer bay), smelts, and at least a dozen others, the names 
of which I could never learn. A fishing vessel might realize 
good returns in this bay with apparatus for salting. Clams and 
crabs are had for the trouble of taking, and wild fowl swarm 
upon the playas and mud-flats of the main land. I know of no 
more promising locality in America for bagging snipe, duck, cur- 
lew, and birds of that description, than is ofiered in many lo- 
calities in the Bay of Fonseca. Alligators infest the waters. 
From the occasional specimens I saw off the unfrequented pla- 
yas, I am convinced that this is the veritable reptile of the fresh- 
water rivers, whose wakeful eye, and grinning, horrid mouth, has 
been the target of so many thousand rifle-shots along the Mis- 
sissippi. In Fonseca Bay they pass fearlessly among the boats 
at anchor at Amapala, and evidently go from salt water into the 
fresh bayous and swampy coasts of the continent without 
trouble. I was not easily convinced of the alligator frequent- 
ing the coast until one day, from a large lighter anchored a 
hundred yards from the shore, and to which, with a friend, I 
had swam while bathing, I observed a long log floating inshore 
from us. I drew the attention of my companion, and proposed 
to swim toward it, when he called out that it was an alligator. 
I did not believe it, however, and it soon drifted out of sight. 
We gained the beach, and not long afterward the log again made 
its appearance, when, a gun being brought from the warehouse, 
a charge of buckshot was fired at it. The water was at once 
violently agitated, and the alligator (for such it really was) 
plunged beneath the surface with a sweep of his tail, leaving no 
farther doubt as to his identity. Thereafter, our swimming ex- 
cursions were confined to the immediate vicinity of the shore. 

I was, at last, beginning to weary of Tigre Island. I had 
traveled its entire circumference, hunted over its length and 
breadth, examined its curiosities, and received my naturalization 
papers in full by passing through the ordeal of calentura, a 
certificate of which I carried in my yellow complexion and lus- 
treless eyes. Its lions once seen, Eobinson Crusoe never be- 
came more disgusted with Juan Fernandez than do the unin- 
itiated with Tigre Island. I heard accounts of a cool, upland 
region thousands of feet above us, in the far interior, where the 



AMAPALA IN AN UPKOAli. 145 

coast fevers rarely if ever penetrate, and whose genial climate 
would restore the human to the pale cheek, and revive the ener- 
gies shattered by the miasma and malaria of the damp lowlands. 
There was my goal ; for that region I had left California ; and 
though it was all-important to await the arrival of Don Carlos, 
yet the time seemed thrown away until I could reach at least 
Tegucigalpa, of whose fame I heard such accounts that I longed, 
as the countryman pines for his first glimpse of the shire town, 
to view this city of the mountains, the very name of which, until 
shortly before, I had never heard. At last a boat from the em- 
barcadero of Choluteca made its appearance, and, casting anchor 
off the little town, its living freight was quickly landed, consist- 
ing of Senor Dardano and three daughters. Their journey had 
been an arduous and perilous one. Leaving New Orleans, they 
had been twenty-two days under sail to Omoa, on the Carib- 
bean Sea, whence they had traveled by mule conveyance, via 
Comayagua and Tegucigalpa, across the continent. I was 
agreeably surprised to find three young ladies with the graces 
and accomplishments attendant upon a New York education, 
and conversing fluently in English, as well as in French, Ital- 
ian, and Spanish. As soon as the fatigues of the journey had 
been met by the required repose, and the usual formal introduc- 
tions gone through with, I presented my letters, and soon came 
to an understanding with my host. 

On the following morning the island was in an uproar. The 
commandante of Amapala hoisted the national flag, and threw 
open his little grog-shop, of which business he has the monopo- 
ly in Tigre Island, and pays the supreme government thirty dol- 
lars per month for the license. A salute was fired from the 
door of the cuartel, and the Sardinian flag hoisted over the con- 
sular residence of Don Carlos. Old and young turned out, and 
flocked to the residence of the new-comers to offer congratula- 
tions and hear the news from the interior. A bullock, which had 
been tied to the sacrificial stake for a week past, awaiting the 
arrival of the party, was killed and distributed among the friends 
of the family, and by night the little town was in fine condition 
to sing or shout, as the case might be, the praises of Don Car- 
los. Fireworks and vivas, salvos of artillery and the popping 
of champagne corks, the twanging of guitars, and the merry con- 

K 



146 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

tra dance and waltz, wliiled away the time until the small hours. 
Amapala has rarely seen a more convivial day since it sprung 
into existence in 1846, under the auspices of the patron whose 
fame the inhabitants were now celebrating. The merry-making 
at last came to an end, and after a few days of negotiation and 
arrangement, in which the bad English of Don Carlos was only 
equaled by my own bad Italian, the final polish was given to 
my formal Spanish letters of introduction to the elite of Tegu- 
cigalpa, including President Cabanas and the various govern- 
ment officials. The bongo was now prepared for La Brea, the 
port of Nacaome, bongo-men engaged and paid beforehand, 
'■'■adios''' reluctantly uttered to pretty faces, kind wishes express- 
ed in good English, and on a warm, rainy evening, at six o'clock, 
behold me directing the conveyance of my baggage to the beach, 
where is anchored the time-honored launch of the famous Ba- 
chicha. I had repeatedly ordered Eafael, my faithful Olancha- 
no, not to leave the baggage, but keep an eye through the dark- 
ness on the bongo-men. llh.Qj)atron had promised to be ready 
at eight o'clock ; but that time passing, and mistrustful of the 
wretch, I sent Rafael to him to ascertain why he had not called 
for my trunks. His reply was that " bongo-men never put to 
sea in the rain." In truth, it was raining with tropical fury, 
and the night seemed most unpropitious for starting; but the 
final " adios''' having been said, and all arranged for immediate 
departure, I was determined to start, if only for very spite, as I 
told the patron ; but he only puffed his cigarrito the harder, 
and observed, 

" Es imjoosible, senor ! noj)uedo salir f 

He looked to me for the customary shrug and concernant re- 
ply, and was evidently prepared for the usual argument. The 
words were hardly uttered, however, before I had commenced 
pummeling him over the head with the apology for an umbrella 
which I still had with me. The effect was magical. The pre- 
scription was until then unheard of in Amapala. From the 
most apathetic, laziest dog on the island, my patron became 
suddenly imbued with an energy that astonished himself as well 
as me, and in an incredibly short space of time he had mustered 
his men, deposited my baggage in the bongo, taken his final 
drink at the cuartel, and, approaching me with a submissive air, 



A NIGHT AT PORT LA BREA. 147 

asked me to do him the favor to mount his shoulders and be car- 
ried througli the water to the bongo. It was not impossible, after 
all; and, seeing that affairs were now in proper train, I coiled my- 
self away in the little chosa and was soon asleep, despite the pour- 
ing rain and the blinding lightning, which flashed through the 
night among the inland mountains. It was yet dark when an 
unwonted rattling of oars awoke me from a feverish slumber. 
Springing up, I found we were far up a river or arm of Fonseca 
Bay known as the " Estero de la Brea." The headway already 
acquired by the bongo shot her toward the western bank, 
which, througli the darkness and mist, seemed to me a second 
edition of Zempisque, and, if possible, even more desolate. We 
sprang ashore, stiU wet with the rains of the previous night. 

A rough but spacious adobe hut, known here as the aduana, 
or custom-house, stands nearest the water, and some dozen 
squalid cabins, scattered over an acre of ground, compose the 
town. A few half-naked wretches were crouching under the 
eaves of the custom-house, whose faint "Adios, seiior!" only 
showed they were alive. My baggage was soon put ashore, 
and the bongo immediately left on her return trip to Tigre Isl- 
and. With the departing splash of their oars the little town 
relapsed again into silence, undisturbed save by the scream of 
the night-owl, or the harsh voice of the bittern from the sur- 
rounding thicket. Rafael gathered my blankets, and made up 
an apology for a bed among the heavy-breathing squad under 
the eaves ; but this delicate little attention was rendered nuga- 
tory by the keen scent of millions of sand-flies, who were not 
long in ascertaining the arrival of a thin-skinned ISTorthemer 
among them. To sleep, or even lie still among such clouds of 
these pests, was out of the question ; so, gun in hand, I took a 
well-beaten cattle-path leading toward a neighboring wood- 
crowned hill, and, half unconsciously, found myself wandering 
into a darkened solitude, where the humming of insects and the 
monotonous croak of the tree-toad were the only sounds. Alone, 
and gazing half dreamily into the " glimmering landscape," that 
lost itself below and beyond the night shades, I began to real- 
ize the true nature of the task I had undertaken. With the 
departure of the bongo, the chain of communication with Nica- 
ragua and California seemed effectually cut off. 



148 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

I was now on the main land, with the continent before and 
above me ; its rugged cordillera, dividing the two oceans, dimly 
defined against the gray dawn, had yet to be crossed and de- 
scended toward the Atlantic slope, and important privileges to 
be obtained, upon which depended the hopes of far-distant and 
expectant friends. Between me and the goal I aimed at, prob- 
ably not five persons could be found understanding a word of 
English ; and although the interior is the most populous and 
civilized portion of the state, I seemed to be entering a terra 
incognita, the mysterious character of which increased the deeper 
it was penetrated. Aurora had cast her rosy tints along the 
horizon. The lowing of cattle, barking of dogs, and incessant 
scolding of countless parrots flitting among the woods, impart- 
ed a livelier air to the hitherto sombre prospect, and, stepping 
down to the nearest rill, I performed my morning ablutions, 
after which I re-entered the miserable little hamlet cheerful and 
happy. Rafael had already missed me, and gazed with stupid 
wonder when I answered to his inquiries that I had been hunt- 
ing. While he was saddling some mules which I had succeed- 
ed in hiring for the trip to Nacaome at four dollars each, I en- 
tered the nearest hut, and with a real purchased a large wooden 
bowl of milk, warm from the cow, which, with the biscuit we 
had brought from Amapala, made a palatable breakfast. At 
seven o'clock we were mounted and making our way over a 
level and apparently very fertile country, intersected with nu- 
merous small streams discharging into the bay. The freshness 
of the early morning air continued until about nine o'clock, 
when the heat became almost intolerable. Even the feathered 
tribe seemed to have fled to the thickest groves to escape it. 
With such a temperature in October, it occurred to me that in 
the hottest months the Pacific coast of Honduras must be a 
species of Pandemonium, unfit for human habitation. Half way 
on our route to Nacaome we passed the hacienda of Agua Ca- 
liente, so named from a hot sulphurous spring taking its rise in 
the vicinity. This is the property of Senor Mariano Valle, who 
is counted one of the wealthiest cattle-owners in the Department 
of Choluteca. 

The road was here defined by the first stone wall I had seen 
in the country, along the crest of which dozens of hideous igua- 



ENTERTAINMENT AT NACAOME. 



149 




THE IGUANA. 



nas were squatted flat upon the stones, regarding us with a fix- 
ed stare as we passed. Ugly as they appear, they are harmless, 
and the females are considered palatable food by the natives. 
The woods through which we rode were composed of robles, 
guanacastes, a few mahogany trees, guapinoles, mangroves, and 
an infinity of acacias, and nameless thorns and bright-leaved 
trees, whose beauties the eye could never weary of contemplat- 
ing. Under the shade of the largest were herds of fat cattle, 
all branded similarly to those of California, and apparently with 
the same qnaint Jlarros. At ten o'clock we arrived at Naca- 
ome, the principal town of this department. My Nicaraguan 
and Amapalan firiends had kindly furnished me with letters of 
introduction to several leading residents, without which my re- 
ception might possibly have been less cordial. We trotted into 
the Plaza, and rode to the adobe hut of a little deformed French- 
man, named Caret, who, in a paroxysm of hospitality at Ama- 
pala, had given me a letter of introduction to his wife, recom- 
mending me, he said, to her special hospitality and regard. I 
had cherished this letter with particular care, and delivered it at 
the door with as much grace as I could assume for the occasion. 
The reception was enthusiastic, and I was requested to dis- 
mount and call the house my own. Eight days did I reside at 
the hospitable house of Monsieur Caret, regaling his screeching 
brats with confectionery, and on my departure for the interior 
the hostess charged me three times the usual price, having count- 
ed on my wealth by the profuseness of my liberality. On my 



150 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

remonstrating, and referring to the letter of Monsieur, recom- 
mending me to reside at the house, 

"Oh!" si^id she; "here, you may see the letter, if you 
wish." 

It actually spoke of my lengthy purse and the liberality of 
its owner ! Considering that I had eaten nothing Ibut a few 
biscuit, had slept in my own hammock, and had, moreover, been 
obliged to hire an extra mule at La Brea to transport a number 
of boxes the hideous little wretch had politely intrusted to my 
charge on leaving Amapala, I left the casa of Monsieur Caret 
with the reflection that here was the first instance in Central 
America where an attempt had been made to cheat me. 

My arrival in Nacaome was the signal for half a dozen young- 
sters, in a state of nature, to cluster round the door and venture 
remarks upon my appearance. Swinging in my hammock, 
which Rafael had slung for me in the corridor, I enjoyed the 
gentle breeze that swept through the thick crush of leaves 
around the town. At noon the heat was almost unbearable, 
but toward evening I ventured out, and, armed with a package 
of introductory letters, visited several families, among whom 
were those of Seiior Ledo Matute, Senor Jose Maria Rugame, 
formerly Minister of Finance under Lindo, and General Manuel 
Escobar, Commandante Militar of the Department of Choluteca. 
This latter gentleman had already received letters from Cas- 
tellon at Leon, advising him of my arrival, and requesting him 
to extend every facility to my enterprise. He handed me a 
bundle of letters from Castellon, which had been awaiting my 
arrival, introducing me favorably to Cabafias, and other distin- 
guished public men in Honduras. iNacaome contains about 
three thousand inhabitants, among whom are several families 
celebrated, in this country of indiscriminate amalgamation, for 
the extreme purity of their Castilian descent. Some of the 
women are pretty, and extremely white, but with the listless, 
sallow, waxy look always marking the resident of tropical low- 
lands. Fevers are prevalent and fatal here in the hot months, 
and the situation of the place in relation to the adjacent foot- 
hills and spurs of the Cordilleras make it one of the hottest and 
most unpleasant on the coast — much more so than the town of 
Choluteca, which is higher, and more open to the effects of the 



A COAL SPECULATOR. 151 

breeze. It stands in an amphitheatre of hills, in the stifling 
atmosphere of which the foreigner gasps for breath. Here 
were the usual dirty little cuartel and handful of fever-stricken 
soldiers, whose negro drummer made the circuit of the Plaza 
three times a day, denoting with his noisy instrument that the 
place was under martial law. General Escobar took me to see 
a review of the troops the day after my arrival. He attached 
a great value to the opinion of a Norte Americano, and hoped 
I would represent, on my return home, the perfection of drill I 
witnessed. It was actually a poor farce, and reminded me of 
ray school-boy days of "playing soldier." But, with efficient 
leaders and good arms, these fellows fight with a courage hardly 
to be expected from their outward appearance. 

I had not been long in town when the news of my enterprise 
to "buy the country" had spread far and near. Among my 
many visitors was an old Salvadoreno, by name Don Lucas 
Resuleo, who, after introducing himself, said he had been expa- 
triated by the Servile party for the leading part he had taken in 
the Liberal cause after the expulsion of Morazan. He was ex- 
tremely anxious to know the object of my visit to Honduras, 
having read the "puff" adroitly inserted by my friend Chico 
Dias in the Nueva Era of Leon ; but, my account not satisfy- 
ing him, he offered me his snuff-box, and complimented me by 
saying how happy I ought to be in counting myself the Goun- 
tryman of Washington. On the following morning I was 
aroused from my hammock by the servant of Don Lucas, bear- 
ing a written invitation from his master to take coffee with him. 
As this is the excess of politeness in Honduras, and a ready- 
saddled mule stood at the door awaiting my movements, I 
could not refuse. The result of my visit was a present from 
the old Don of complete files of several old Guatemalan and 
Honduras newspapers, illustrated with the writings of Valle, 
Barrundia, Cacho, and Marure, comprising the best history of 
Central America to be obtained since the Independence. 

Two hours' conversation with the old politician placed me in 
possession of many additional facts of great value. But the 
principal object of his attentions to me was to obtain nxj opin- 
ion regarding some specimens of coal, or a crocky substance re- 
sembling it, which he said came from his mine near the mouth 



152 EXPLOEATIONS IN HOKDURAS. 

of the Goascoran River, emptying into the Bay of Fonseca. 
The pieces somewhat resembled English cannel coal, without its 
glossy appearance. I was at a loss to determine whether it 
was stone or coal ; if the latter, it must have contained a con- 
siderable portion of foreign matter. A specimen which I saw 
burning left a mass of clinker, and emitted a small, feeble flame. 
Don Lucas had already carried his shaft to a depth of three 
varas (that being prescribed by the mining laws of the country 
to insure possession), and, although laughed at as a crazy fool 
by his less industrious neighbors, he felt quite sure of eventu- 
ally realizing a fortune. I could not repress a smile at the 
breathless attention the old man gave to my opinion, rendered, 
perhaps, a trifle too favorable. He evidently considered a word 
from a foreigner worth more than volumes of praise, or the re- 
verse, from one of his own countrymen. He professed to have 
a paper, signed by Mr. E. G. Squier, to the eflect that good coal 
could be found along the banks of the Goascoran, and desired 
me to add my own; but, having never seen that section of 
the state, I was unable to do so. We finally compromised 
matters by my exchanging signatures with him — an act- of ex- 
treme firiendship in Central America. Coal undoubtedly exists 
on the Pacific slope of Honduras and San Salvador, but, like 
most of that found within the tropics, it lacks the weight and 
consistency of the northern article. Of the advantages to ac- 
crue from the establishment of a coal depot at Amapala, to be 
supplied from these mines, capitaHsts are already aware from 
other sources. 

I had arranged at Amapala with a nephew of General Ca- 
banas, who was on his way to Tegucigalpa, to meet me at Na- 
caome, and, anxious to secure his company in this my first jour- 
ney in the country, I waited a number of days for his arrival. 
During this sojourn I had ample time to arrange my plans for 
the future, as well as to observe the little world around me. 
At early dawn I walked to the banks of the river and plunged 
into its pure waters, sparkling merrily along beneath a blue sky 
and among the greenish foliage ; thence returning, I found a cup 
of chocolate or coflee awaiting me, which dispatched, and a 
couple of dgarros whiffed into smoke in the luxurious ham- 
mock, I donned my broad-brimmed hat and sallied out in quest 



MEDICAL PRACTICE EXTRAORDINARY. 153 

of novelties, and to return some of the numerous visits made me 
by the kind-hearted but inquisitive inhabitants. At ten o'clock 
the streets were generally deserted save by a score or two of 
donkeys, hogs, and dogs, who seemed the only specimens of an- 
imated life capable of resisting the burning sun. Here, as in 
all other Central American places, the dogs enjoy the freedom 
of the town. Numbers of these lanky creatures, covered with 
sores and fleas, entered the house on the first two days, and 
ensconced themselves around my hammock, from whence nei- 
ther the loud "perro!" of the senora nor the scolding of 
the other women could dislodge them. The agony of flea- 
bites soon convinced me that either I or the dogs must quit 
the house. Arming myself with a club, I declared war, and 
opened on the offensive at once, to the wonder and fear of the 
senora, who from childhood had regarded the dogs as a necessa- 
ry and unavoidable evil. From my hammock I left my mark 
on every gay Lothario of a cur in the street, who at length, 
finding their ancient privileges about to be disputed, watched for 
my coming, and avoided me like a pestilence. When tired of 
this amusement I usually resigned the club to Rafael, who stood 
patiently at the door, like another Cerberus, ready to " slam" 
his weapon upon the heads of all canine intruders. 

I was reposing as usual one sultry afternoon, watching the 
clouds sweeping past the distant mountain peaks, when a serv- 
ant from the house of Senor Rugame rode up to the door of my 
little residence, and, quickly dismounting, desired me to ride to 
the house of his master, whose little daughter was grievously 
ill. Every foreigner is supposed in Central America to be a 
doctor, and, should the traveler once succeed in effecting some 
fortunate hap-hazard cure, his reputation is thenceforth made. 
He is sought from all quarters, and his skill even demanded in 
cases where a failure might destroy the hopes of expectant pa- 
rents and family fiiends. To refuse is almost an impossibility; 
and where the whole family join in the request, backed by a 
handsomely-saddled horse awaiting your movements at the door, 
you risk the forfeiture of every body's good-will by withholding 
what little medical skill you may possess. On this occasion, 
therefore, I hastened to the house of the old Don, where the 
mother was anxiously awaiting my arrival. The silent sus- 



154 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

pense with which the senora watched ray face as I felt the pulse 
of the delirious little sufferer went quite to my heart. Prescribe 
I must, despite my assertions that I was no physician. They 
only regarded this as a proof of my modesty and real ability. 
So, applying to a small box of medicines prepared for me in 
California, I administered my remedies, inwardly praying they 
might be of use, and knowing they were at least harmless. My 
directions were followed to the letter, and on the following day, 
to my gratification and surprise, the fever had vanished, and be- 
fore my departure the patient nearly recovered. My reputation 
henceforth preceded me in all my travels. I was un Tnedico 
muy grande in disguise, and the oftener I denied it the more 
convinced were they of the fact. Not long afterward, the Se- 
iiora Caret was taken ill while I was absent in another part of 
the town. " Doctor Don Guillermo" was sent for with all dis- 
patch. A general commotion in the household announced my 
return, and I was ushered into the presence of the inferma with 
due formality. I do not choose to state what my remedies 
were, but the precipitancy with which Dona Merced swallowed 
them manifested a confidence in the prescriber which older 
practitioners might have sighed for in vain. The patient recov- 
ered, and I, unlike Dr. Sangrado, have not to answer hereafter 
for my malpractice. 

Nacaome is the scene of one or two sharp revolutionary con- 
flicts, and here Cabanas lost some of his bravest officers. The 
climate of the place and its vicinity is abhorred by foreigners. 
Even the natives do not long survive the hot, damp atmosphere. 
The summer heat of the place has become proverbial. 

On the seventh day after my arrival, when I had resolved to 

start alone, my friend T arrived from San Miguel by land, 

when we made instant preparations for departure. The senora 
prepared her best breakfast, and mules were brought from a 
neighboring hacienda. General Escobar and suite called upon 
us with another bundle of introductory letters, which he said 
would place the best houses in Tegucigalpa at my disposal. 
At night I was awakened by a villainous twanging of catgut 
and a melancholy wailing of voices outside the door. It was a 
serenade to "Dr. Don Guillermo." The music consisted of an 
oft-repeated strain from four voices, the performers increasing 



DEPAETUEE FROM NACAOME. 155 

ill rapidity and noise toward the last line of each verse, when 
the whole party uttered a loud yell ; then succeeded a guitar 
interlude, and the next verse was rendered. Several dogs, and 
a mad bull chained to a stake in an adjoining yard, added their 
voices to the din. A maniac living opposite opened his door, 
and assisted with imitations of a man being strangled. At last 
a pattering of rain-drops drove the serenaders to their homes, 
and soon the little town subsided into its wonted silence. I 
learned on the following morning that the musical party had 
been engaged at a christening, and, not a little proud of their 
abilities, had determined to give a proof of them to the stranger. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Crossing the Moromulca and Nacaome. — Sierra Traveling in Central America. 
— Advice to Travelers. — Mules. — Saddles. — Hiring Servants. — Pleasures of 
the Journey. — Bathing Places. — "Cubiertos." — How to please Don Fulano. 
— The Plain of Nacaome. — A Cascade. — A Look back. — Pespire. — An oblig- 
ing Alcalde. — A Bevy of Beauties. — Oracion. — ^^No hay para vender .'" — Swim- 
ming Match with the Belles of Pespire. — '■^ Adios!" — ^Natural Productions. — 
Some of the wUd Birds. 

Although every thing had apparently been arranged for our 
departure, it was past nine o'clock on the following morning 
when, bidding adieu to our Nacaome friends, and preceded by 
our two servants, an ariero, and the pack-mules, we left the 
town, and turned toward the lofty tumble of mountains rising in 
gray and solemn grandeur before us. Our course was nearly 
north, toward the ferry across the Moromulca and Nacaome riv- 
ers, which, joining within a mile of the town, form a considera- 
ble stream, discharging into the Bay of Fonseca near La Brea. 
The rains of the previous night had swollen the waters into 
rapid whirlpools, forming at the junction a boiling mass of foam, 
whose yeasty billows rendered a passage in the crazy old bongo 
a matter of doubt, if not of danger. Even the government cou- 
rier, who is supposed to stop at no impediment, refused to cross 
toward us, and the Charon of the place advised us to await the 

subsidence of the waters. I left the case for T to decide, 

who at once voted for crossing. The river is here about two 
hundred yards in width. A number of boys were swimming near 



156 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

the shore, who plunged fearlessly about, diving and reappearing 
in funny contrast with the white-capped seas, their shiny forms 
glistening like porpoises in the sunlight. The bongo was a 
mere dug-out, but we crowded into it, baggage and all, and leav- 
ing the mules to the care of our servants, pulled out into the 
stream. We poled along the opposite side for several hundred 
yards before entering the foaming current of the Nacaome. Aft- 
er half an hour's tugging at the roots and overhanging branches, 
we reached a point about two hundred yards above the landing. 
The rowers now seated themselves and adjusted the paddles for 
a heavy tug, when, all being ready, the foremost one gave as the 
signal, '"'■Hoo-jpah /" The boat glided out into the hissing tor- 
rent, and darted down with the tide like an arrow. The water 
entered from both sides ; the men sprang to their work like de- 
mons, but, despite their efforts, the frail craft was twirled in the 
current as in a whirlpool. We drifted helplessly toward a se- 
ries of rapids below, amid which destruction seemed inevitable ; 
and, in fact, we were quite within their influence, when a lucky 
eddy sent us, as if shot from a gun, into a pile of drift-wood, 
whence we gradually reached the shore, completely wet, and 
with the satisfaction of seeing every article in the boat swim- 
ming in water. The mules crossed at a point below, their heads 
just visible above the water, and snorting like hogs with the 
unusual exertion. To be wet through, either in showers or in 
bongo navigation, had now become a matter of course conse- 
quent upon traveling in the rainy season ; so, without attempt- 
ing to change our clothes, we saddled and started for Pespire, a 
distance of five leagues, inwardly congratulating ourselves on 

the escape from drowning, which, according to T , had been 

a narrow one. My companion took these little incidents with 
stoical indifference, believing that, as he had passed unscathed 
the thousand and one revolutions of the country, he had an equal 
chance of safety in his sierra journeying. 

Mountain travel, as done in the interior of the Central Amer- 
ican states, is in many respects like that of the Andes. The 
camino real, or public highway, is a mere mule-path over the 
mountains. The only road (made or improved) in the country 
is that of the Transit Company in Nicaragua, connecting San 
Juan and Virgin Bay. The great plain of Leon has natural 



HOW TO TRAVEL IN THE SIERRAS. 157 

roads, which are level and good in summer, though dustj. 
These could be improved with little expense, but there lacks 
the public spirit to undertake any such enterprise. From the 
camino real in Honduras there are occasionally lateral paths 
among the ti-ees leading to various small towns, varying in pop- 
ulation from five to eight hundred. These are scattered along 
the country at distances of about ten leagues, and it is rarely 
the traveler can not " make" a town at the end of his day's jour- 
ney. 

Provisions, such as dried beef, cheese, chichiy aguardiente, tiste, 
sometimes venison, chickens, eggs, milk, tortillas, salchichas, and 
rice and beans, may be purchased at these villages, and at the 
small haciendas during the seasons of plenty ; but for the last 
four years, what with the locusts and the wars, there is scarce- 
ly enough to support the inhabitants, and the wayfarer must 
often turn supperless into his hammock, with scarcely a better 
prospect for the morrow. 

But the mountain traveling is jolly work, after all, if you have 
a pleasant companion, a reasonably honest servant, and the con- 
stitution to enjoy the rare and strange scenery ever opening to 
the view. You spring from your hammock at daylight, while 
the air is yet vocal with the song of birds ; for, to make a good 
day's journey, you must start before sunrise, and retire during 
the noonday heat into the shade of the nearest woods, where 
some clear water-course aifords your servant the means of pre- 
paring your tiste or cafe while, swinging in your hammock be- 
tween two flower-capped trees, you enjoy the delicious coolness ; 
or, if you appreciate the luxury of a bath after your dusty strug- 
gle, you ensconce yourself under the silvery spray of some tiny 
waterfall, whence you emerge refreshed and ready for the road. 

You must expect every inconvenience and painful privation ; 
and since these regions, as they become known to the world, are 
doubtless destined to be crossed by many Americans, it is per- 
haps well to go prepared for any and every emergency. Out 
of the viands above enumerated, the traveler, if used to Central 
American life, may make a tolerably good meal ; but if he is 
" up" to the country, he will not neglect to provide himself with 
spoon, knife, and fork, salt and pepper, packed in some conven- 
ient traveling-case made for the purpose ; several pounds of burnt 



158 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

and ground coffee ; an equal quantity of sugar, if he has not 
learned to do without it ; a few pickles, and a small iron affair 
which must answer the purposes of kettle, stew-pan, coffee-pot, 
and punch-bowl. Let him not forget the eslabon, apagador, and 
jpiedra chispa, the universally-used flint and tinder-box of the 
country ; and with a good supply of native tobacco, which is 
really excellent, the stranger may laugh at famine, and pass 
comfortably and tranquilly through any part of Honduras, al- 
ways receiving a ^'■huenos dias T from the natives, and a gay 
smile from the chocolate-colored muchachas in reply to some 
mstic gallantry in the shape of compliment or passing joke. 

The Spanish- American resorts \o finesse and flattery to ac- 
complish his ends, especially toward strangers. You must 
therefore take Don Fulano on the weak side, and fight him with 
his own weapons. His love of country is not less a fixed fact 
than that attributed to the American. To him the bald mount- 
ain peaks and blue skies, the profuse verdure of the lowlands, 
or the stunted vegetation of the sierras, are as dear as the cher- 
ished institutions of our own land are to us. Though soft sol- 
der and flattery are his most usual means of success, he is not 
invulnerable himself to the same weapons. Tou must therefore 
praise his country, wonder at the scenery, compliment the seiio- 
ritas, and join in their jokes. He who can travel a year in 
Honduras without being constantly amused must be incapable 
of appreciating the ludicrous in a thousand incidents and scenes. 
In a word, a man, with a good constitution to bear up against 
privations and occasional mishaps, a clear conscience, and the 
zest to enjoy life in an entirely new and picturesque garb, may 
laugh his way across the continent, and ever afterward refer to 
his trip with pleasing recollections. 

In a journey over the Cordilleras, aU the articles are carried 
by the servant, who takes charge of the pack-mules, and gener- 
ally precedes you half a mile on the road. Should the traveler 
have baggage, an extra mule must be hired, always remember- 
ing that it is easier to pack two trunks than one, as the art of 
packing a mule consists in placing the load so as to preserve 
its equilibrium on the animal's back. No hotels or inns open 
their friendly doors along the route, and in the villages a stran- 
ger is regarded with a suspicious awe, which in war-time leaves 



CENTRAL AMERICAN MULES AND HORSES. I59 

you to suppose yourself taken for some spy of the enemy, or 
" el ministro," the title now conceded to almost every well- 
dressed traveler with a foreign dash in his accent. 

A servant is indispensable, and can be readily obtained at 
any of the coast towns for $5 iduros) per month. In the inte- 
rior they have yet to become acquainted with the wants of for- 
eigners. A good traveling servant is up by four o'clock in the 
morning (if on the road), and awakes hi?, patr'on at a given hour, 
presenting him at the same time with a cup of hot coffee or 
cacao. This you sip at your leisure by candle-light, swinging 
in your hammock, and varying the entertainments with short 
whiffs at the " digestive pipe." Meanwhile Pedro or Manuel 
packs and saddles the animals. When all is prepared, you 
buckle on your spurs, and, having seen the mozos start, you 
mount and amble along without troubling yourself regarding the 
baggage. Any scientific instruments which you may have must 
be ever under your own eye, as Manuel is as likely as not to use 
your barometer to beat his mule, or your sextant-case for a fri- 
jole dish. 

Mules are to Honduras what the camel is to Arabia. With- 
out this patient and hardy creature there would be no means of 
transporting goods across the sierras. The mula, or she-mule, 
is considered much more valuable than the macho. She is taught 
an easy ambling, rach^ not known out of Spanish America, and 
more resembling a very rapid walk than any other gait I can 
think of. The animal thus broken is called an andadora, and 
gets over an astonishing amount of country in a day. They are 
seldom used for cargo, are well kept, and valued from $60 to 
$250. The common price of good mules is about $30 in silver. 
It is generally preferable for the traveler to purchase at once on 
entering the country, even if he pays a larger price, as he is oft- 
en detained seeking for animals para alquilar, which is always 
attended with annoying circumstances. Don Fulano, with whom 
you have bargained, starts off to see Don Somebody else about 
it, and it is a chance if he does not stop on the way and forget 
his errand, leaving you to fret or philosophize, as may best please 
you. The first lesson for the foreigner to learn in Central Amer- 
ica is to "take no note of time," which is a commodity without 
value to the Spaniard. The idea of hurrying is regarded as an 



160 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

evidence of a weak head and frivolous character. '''•Pronto''' is 
often heard, but seldom put in practice. Owning your own 
mules, you may start at any hour, and there is little danger of 
losing them by theft. Besides, the expenses of hiring from 
town to town at last exceed their original cost, to say nothing 
of the chance of getting hard-trotting brutes thrust upon you as 
an ignorant stranger. 

The saddle of the country is at best a poor apology, and let 
no one deceive himself by going to Central America with the ex- 
pectation of procuring one. The only saddles that a stranger 
can use are those imported from Mexico, all the rest being rough, 
ill-shaped affairs known as albardos. The Mexican or curb bit 
should also be carried to the country, the snaffle being inappli- 
cable to the mule. Two pairs of covered leathern saddle-bags 
are also indispensable, as the alforjas, or open-work sacks of 
pita are not water-proof. Pistols I found of little use after 
landing in Honduras. Except in times of revolution or public 
disturbance, the country is as safe to travel through as the inte- 
rior of New York. It is better, however, to have arms carried in 
leathern holsters. But the weight of a heavy Colt's revolver is 
enough to destroy the pleasure of traveling in any country. My 
rifle, which I never allowed beyond my sight, proved a useless 
incumbrance, except to take an occasional crack at a staring 
iguana, or to bring some bounding deer to an abrupt halt. In 
the rainy season a white India-rubber coat will be found service- 
able, and few travel without an umbrella, but rather as a pro- 
tection against the sun than the rain. The horses are small, 
but very strong, and are descendants of the old Spanish stock. 
They are seldom used for long distances, the mule being prefer- 
red for its powers of endurance. I have devoted, perhaps, an 
undue space to the description of sierra traveling, but excuse it 
to myself under the idea that some fixture wayfarer may find it 
advantageous. 

After leaving the ferry of the Nacaome, we followed a well- 
beaten track leading over the undulating foot-hills of the mount- 
ain regions we were approaching. The surface of the country 
gradually changed. After two leagues we began to rise more 
rapidly, and found ourselves pursuing a mountain path known 
as the public road, with evidences of having once been im- 



SCENERY ON THE ROUTE. 161 

proved. We crossed several small streams falling into the 
Nacaome. Some of tliese tumbled in cascades from the rocks, 
or ran over level, pebbly bottoms. One, at the foot of a conical 
hill, looked so inviting that we stopped, and, preparing our 
hooks, let them down into the deepest and stillest pools, where 
trout ought to frequent ; but our most tempting inducements 
were without avail. 

The arieros having gone on before, we remounted, and over- 
took them and the pack-mules at the top of a ridge in a dense 
tliicket, the silence only disturbed by a distant roar like that of 
a New England forest. Indeed, the scenery in many places re- 
minded me of that of some of the Eastern and Middle States. 
The roaring we imagined to come from the trees in the wind, 
until a sudden turn in the path gave us a glimpse of a branch 
of the Nacaome dashing bravely over a precipice, and scattering 
abroad its waters in the form of a fountain. We looked down 
some hundreds of feet, the voice of the cataract echoing among 
the surrounding hills. This, as well as the other streams we 
had passed, was enlarged by the recent rains. The course of 
nearly all of them was southwest, and falling into the Naca- 
ome. 

The ground in every direction showed indications of miner- 
als. Valuable opals are said to exist in these ravines, but all 
I afterward saw were procured from the Department of Gracias, 
in Eastern Honduras. From the rising ground over which we 
passed we caught frequent glances of the leafy plain we were 
leaving. The afternoon sun poured full upon the varied shades 
of green, seeming to blink in the intense heat. Leagues be- 
yond, the blue ocean spread away from Fonseca Bay, and the 
line of volcanoes, stretching from San Salvador into Nicaragua, 
stood like sentinels overlooking the teeming plains beneath. A 
thousand rare plants and trees stood trembling in the fierce sun- 
light. Here we noted, as we passed, the allspice, the tamarind, 
acacia, bamboo, mahogany, silk-cotton-tree, ebony, oak, cactus, 
copalchi, y^'Adi jocote, lobelia, wild lime, mastic, sapote, and doz- 
ens of others, uncared-for and unclaimed, budding, leafing, and 
dispensing their fruits, year after year, in the silence of the trop- 
ical forest. 

Toward evening we began to descend a steep hill-side to the 

L 



132 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

plain of Pespire. At the foot we again encountered the Na- 
caome, but the ford was covered, and the river raged among the 
impeding rocks with an increased force from the rains of yes- 
ternight. Some people on the opposite shore shouted and mo- 
tioned to us, but the voices were lost in the roar of the waters. 
We now understood them to be impassable ; but, having already- 
formed an estimate of Central American impossibilities, we en- 
tered at where the ford seemed to be, and passed over without 
difficulty, though the boiling and hissing of the torrent made us 
half repent our rashness before we reached the shallow water of 
the Pespire shore. 

A few naked urchins scampered in advance of our train to 
show the way, and in a few minutes ushered us into the little 
town with shouts of 

" Mir a ! Tnira I aqui viene el A-Tnericano P'' 

As we entered the Plaza we met the alcalde, known by the 
cane of office. He returned our salutations with a low bow, and 
bid us welcome. 

"Although," said he, "I am obliged by law to inquire into 
the business of all strangers during the present disturbances 
with Guatemala, your countenances are youi best passports. 
Go with God I" 

With this flattering introduction to Pespire, we exchanged 
"ac?ws" with the friendly alcalde, and made our way to a small 
street, one side of which was formed by the adobe wall of the 
church of Santa Ursula, and pulled up at the door of la Senora 
Urmaneta. No sooner had we alighted than we were surround- 
ed by an inquisitive crowd, most of them quick-eyed girls, who 
from time to time uttered low and rapid comments on our ap- 
pearance and trappings. One of them, informed by the ragged 
troop who had preceded us, remarked, 

" Todos los Americanos sienvpre traen rifles por el ca- 
'mi7io." 

As she said this with rather a disdainful glance at the care I 
bestowed on my weapon (the last gift of "Natchez" in San 
Francisco), I replied in Spanish, with some compliment to the 
rural critic, when, with a loud scream, the group took to their 
heels, laughing, and repeating, 

'■'•HaUa Espanol ! habla Espanol P' little counting, when 



PESPIRE. 163 

they commenced their comments, on our being able to compre- 
hend them. 

The beasts resigned to the care of the servants, we entered 
the house just as the solemn church bell announced the hour of 
oracion. For a moment all was silent in the town. This 
beautiful custom is not observed in Honduras with the rever- 
ence shown to it in Nicaragua, where many kneel, and nearly all 
lift their hats. Here only a moment's respectful silence showed 
the general recognition of the custom. 

As we had been forewarned, nothing can be bought on the 
road for copper. "iVb hay, senor,^'' was the response to all de- 
mands for food. The landlady made the same reply until 
T exhibited some silver reals, when the old dame's mem- 
ory seemed suddenly refreshed, and we shortly sat down to a 
supper of hard-boiled eggs, chickens, and frijoles, to which we 
added, from our own stock of provisions, coffee, ship-bread, and 
a final honne bouche of a glassful of French brandy. Pespire is 
the connecting link in the traffic between the mountain city of 
Tegucigalpa and the ports of Amapala and La Union. Here are 
the head-quarters of mules, and a lively trade is maintained be- 
tween Comayagua to the northwest, Tegucigalpa to the north- 
east, and Choluteca to the eastward — three centres of trade for 
their respective sections of Honduras. It has about two thou- 
sand inhabitants. The streets, which are neatly paved with the 
smooth stones of the river, are regularly laid out. A neat church, 
cabilda, and rector's residence, all of adobe, are the only build- 
ings to be distinguished from the mass of red-tiled roofs, from 
among which tall palms and a variety of fruit-trees rear them- 
selves with a pleasing and picturesque effect. At sunset we 
strolled into the Plaza to buy some bundles of sacate for the 
mules, and then entering our respective hide beds, to the hard- 
ness of which our aching bones attested in the morning, we dis- 
puted possession with the fleas until daylight. 

With the dawn we walked forth, and, after dispatcliing the 
boys to the potrero for the mules, stripped and plunged into the 
river, to allay the feverish heat caused by the irritations of the 
night. All the water used in Pespire is taken in earthen jars 
on the heads of female water-bearers. We had scarcely left the 
river when troops of these aguadoras, straight and well formed, 



164 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

walked down to the bank, and, after filling their jars, imitated 
our example, and followed the immemorial custom in the tropics 
of a morning bath. Some of them swam fearlessly into the 
middle of the torrent, and splashed about in the foam like Naiads. 
As they evinced an utter unconcern at our proximity, we took to 
ourselves the credit of not being the aggressors, and were, con- 
sequently, in no fear of the fate of peeping Tom of Coventry. 
They made the woods echo with their wild laughter, and even 
amused themselves at our expense as we walked away. I 

told T that this was an instance of natural simplicity of 

manner such as I had rarely witnessed. " Oh no," said he, 
with a laugh ; " this is common ; you must get used to our 
Honduras ways." I then recalled my bathing experience in 
Nicaragua, and voted the Central Americans the most unsophis- 
ticated race in existence. 

At seven o'clock we left town, having partaken of cafe con 
leche, and took the road, after bidding adieu to the obsequious 
alcalde, and replying with unction to the *■'• adios, Americano^'' 
of the juvenile population. From the little adobe outskirts of 
Pespire we entered a valley leading upward toward the sierras. 
The path was intersected with gullies and streams swollen by 
the late rains. From the occasional ridges of metallic rock, we 
gazed inland toward ominous-looking peaks and forested hills, 
over which, from their easterly bearing, it was evident we must 
pass ; but our mules were fresh and strong, and we stretched 
onward with full confidence. My servant here pointed out the 
alTTiastiga, or mastic-tree, growing in small clusters along the 
slopes of the hills. This drug, found in several localities in 
Central America, is obtained by making incisions in the trees ; 
but as yet, few attempts have been made to procure it except in 
Guatemala. No exportations, either from Honduras or Nicara- 
gua, have ever been made. The cactus, in numerous and beau- 
tiful varieties, showed itself along the route, sometimes perched 
jauntily on the peak of a bold rock, and at others snugly en- 
sconced in the niches of the granite walls that bordered our 
path. Some were scarlet, but the greater number were of a 
rich yellow, and resembled marigolds when viewed from a dis- 
tance. 

A variety of beautiful birds flitted past, but few of them were 



WILD BIRDS. 165 

songsters. The names ot some of these have probably never 
been published. Many familiar to Americans are found in the 
woods of the foot-hills of the sierras, and differ little from the 
same species at the north. Here may be seen the sparrow- 
hawk ; the muchuelo, or horn-owl ; the white, blue, purple, and 
gray heron ; the crow and blackbird ; the ruisenor, or nightin- 
gale ; the verderon, or greenbird ; and the ijichon, or blue dove, 
somewhat resembling our domestic pigeon, the male sporting a 
pretty indigo back and purple breast. He is generally seen 
alone on some gnarled limb, and answering with his ventrilo- 
quous note his distant companion. The ]^ica madera, or Cen- 
tral American woodpecker, may sometimes be heard in the dark 
everglades hammering busily at his store -house, the decayed 
tree. There is also the redbird, with his beautiful topknot ; 
the swallow-tail {el tijiros) ; the cola larga, or long-tail, and 
twice as many more, counting from the gorgeous jurraca to the 
gilded humming-bird, of which the forests are full, and of more 
hues and descriptions than would find a reasonably industrious 
ornithologist employment for a year. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Note-taking. — Sugar-loaf Mountain. — Cinnabar. — Foliage. — Mountain Scenery. 
— Mansanita. — A dizzy Precipice. — La Venta. — The Alcalde. — "El Ministro 
Americano!" — Famine among the Villagers. — Padre Ramierez's Ideas of 
Protestantism. — How to get a Dinner. — Plantains. — View from the Cordille- 
ras. — Savanna Grande. — Padre Domingo. — Hacienda de Trinidad. — Wedding 
in the Mountains. — An Adventure. — Meeting a Bridal Party. — Lost in the 
Sierra. — A midnight Storm. — Nueva Arcadia. — Pine Forests. — Cen-o de Ule. 
— Another Adventure. — Fording el Rio Grande. — Ahorcadores. — Approach to 
Tegucigalpa. — The City, — First Impressions. 

On entering for the first time the shadows of a Central Amer- 
ican forest, the stranger is possessed with a mania to take notes 
of every thing he sees, hears, feels, and smells ; but, finding a 
mass of evidence accumulating he had little counted on at the 
outset, he gradually relaxes his vigilance, inclining to depend on 
memory in his future travels. From such a collection it after- 
ward becomes difiicult to select in " lots to suit" readers, and 
the fact left out as frivolous to one might prove of the utmost 



IQQ EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

importance to another. Thus an ornithologist would wonder 
at the stupidity which, among such a profusion of bright- winged 
birds, could have failed to note the habits and plumage of each, 
and a similar remark might be made by the professor of every 
branch of science. But the time spent in such researches would 
defeat the objects of any but a scientific, and, consequently, slow- 
er-paced expedition. A rush through the country on mule-back 
affords but limited opportunities for minute investigation, or to 
record notes amid the vexations of a painful trip, in which, in- 
stead of a corps of savans, one unassisted and incompetent way- 
farer must make and commit to the pass-book every thing of in- 
terest. Nobody in Central America can understand the object 
of your questions, and the general reply to all is the universal 
"^or supuesto,'''' "of course." It sometimes takes an hour's 
adroit questioning, and a world of patience, to ascertain one sim- 
ple fact — such, for instance, as to the season of planting the 
yuca, or the depth of a river at a stated season. Woe to the 
interrogator should he lose his patience, or show the least petu- 
lance at the slow-moulded responses to his queries. He is then 
regarded as a weak-minded j^6;?^6^, and decidedly an undignified 
personage. 

We left the little valley and mounted the foot-hills, sparkling 
here and there with sulphurets, and evidences protruding in va- 
rious places of iron and copper ores. Spaces of country occa- 
sionally opened which seemed fertile, from the snugly-thatched 
huts, half-embowered in waving corn, and the jplatinal rustling 
its leafy wealth in the breeze. I had long since abandoned my 
plan of noting each small stream flowing toward the ocean. 
Among the prominent landmarks I noted a leaning sugar-loaf 
mountain, which peered aloft, conspicuous above the surround- 
ing peaks. At a distance it resembled a battered castle turret ; 
but, on passing it toward evening, we found it covered with a 
remarkable red stone, which our guide asserted was cinnabar, 
proved to be such by a German traveling chemist who had wan- 
dered through here many years since. 

At noon we struck off from the road, and the boys, now work- 
ed into practice, were speedily engaged making coffee. Our 
height was eighteen hundred feet above the sea. No pine or fir 
trees had yet been seen on the route. The formations were gen- 



UP THE SIERRA. 



167 



erally of sandstone, disintegrated quartz and granite. The tem- 
perature was 86° Fahr. From our stopping-place we gazed 
back upon the mountain ridges through which our journey had 
led us. A better mountaineer than myself would have been 
puzzled to point out the route leading from the flowery plains 
of Choluteca into the more temperate chmate we were now en- 
joying. Above us, against the eastern sky, we saw plainly the 
line of pines which we would reach during the ensuing day. 
Far to the westward, the volcanic peaks of El Tigre, Sacate 
Grande, Conchagua, and San Miguel loomed blue and dim 
against the misty horizon, beneath which I vainly endeavored to 
distinguish the ocean. The steep ascent, up which the trail still 




SIEEKA, TRAVELING. 



extended, showed the path, carved out of the white sandstone 
by the mules' feet, winding like the sinuosities of a great ser- 
pent. 

The pass from this point, which is called El Diablo^ is reck- 
oned one of the most dangerous in the sierra. It forms, how- 
ever, the principal route to the interior. Huge peaks and jut- 



168 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

ting cliffs of gray granite tower against the sky. The trees of 
smaller growth, widely separated, and bending away from the 
force of the prevailing winds, stood in scattered squadrons along 
the less precipitous slopes. 

Forming a prominent feature in the scanty foliage, the man- 
sanita, with its red, gnarled, and crooked trunk leaning awk- 
wardly from the perpendicular, thrust itself from among the 
rocks and shallow, clayey soil, which seemed scarcely capable 
of sustaining it. The tree or bush is hardly above ten feet in 
height. Its branches and twigs are coated with a delicate layer 
of white, pollen-like substance, which easily brushes off. The 
leaves are alternate, oval, veined, of a light green on the upper 
surface, but a shade paler beneath. It bears a very small white 
and pink flower. 

Close to our encampment was a precipice, down which we 
gazed a sheer descent of several hundred feet, the bald rock 
scarcely offering a notch upon which to rest the foot. Here I 
amused myself in dislocating the heaviest stones, and watching 
their descent, until the sound of their rattling was lost in the 
murmur of the woods below. The lengthening shadows at last 
warned us to remount, and struggle onward and upward. 

From here our road was a gradual ascent, at times winding 
along precipices on whose brow a narrow shelf protruded, barely 
leaving room for a loaded mule to pass with safety. Though 
this is denominated the camino real, or highway, we saw no 
sign of life through the day, except where some bit of land, less 
broken than the rest, had tempted a mountaineer to fix his hab- 
itation, and experiment in raising a scanty crop of corn or beans. 
These specks of green seemed mingling with the clouds, and 
were generally situated far above our route. We at length open- 
ed upon a valley completely locked in by abrupt hills, in the 
midst of which lay the little town of La Yenta, or the Inn, sit- 
uated 2600 feet above the sea. 

Several plantain-fields prepared the visitor for the rude civili- 
zation beyond. The place was a miserable collection of mount- 
ain hovels, with about 600 inhabitants. We reached the Plaza 
half an hour before our pack-train, and rode directly to the ca- 
hilda, or court-house, usually considered in Honduras as public 
property, and standing in lieu of a house of entertainment. As 



LA VENTA. 169 

we dismounted, darkness fell suddenly over the mountains, and 
a heavy rain drove us precipitately into our adobe hut, boasting 
neither floor nor walls beside the mud of which it was construct- 
ed. The muleteers arrived soon after, and with them a bare- 
footed gentleman, clad in a cotton shirt and loose trowsers of sim- 
ilar material, whose insignia of office — a cane — denoted him to 
be the alcalde. He demanded to see our passports, and awaited 
our answer in silence, while a group of village gossips stood at a 

respectful distance to observe our motions. T told him I 

was the American minister, at which the fellow opened wide his 
eyes and made me a low obeisance. An hour's hunt among the 
wretched huts produced absolutely nothing to eat. To our ur- 
gent inquiries for tortillas, eggs, or venison, the response was 
the usual " no hay.'''' Even the jingle of silver failed to bring 
any thing to light. 

" Tell me," said I to the alcalde, who now, wrapped in his 
blanket, had squatted on his hams near our fire, "how do you 
manage to live here? There seems to be nothing to subsist 
upon — or perhaps this is a time of unusual scarcity." 

" Senor," said he, "we live on tortillas a.nd plantai7is, and 
when these can not be procured we go hungry ;" and the mea- 
gre look of the man seemed to warrant his assertion. The rain 
was now descending m torrents. 

" Senor will not reach Cerro de Ule to-morrow," said he. 
"The roads are impassable." 

" Oh," said T , "as to that, an A?nericano del JVbrte can 

go any where ; and this, you know, is a minister !" 

The official regarded me in silence, the fire strangely illumi- 
nating his dusky features. A hook-nosed personage now an- 
nounced himself as the Padre Ramierez, with whom I entered 
into conversation. His ideas of religion in el JVbrte were novel 
and interesting. "I have read," said he, "that you in the North 
have dozens of different styles and denominations of churches, 
and that each is in charge of a separate padre. Do the people 
in your country believe in more than one God ?" His question 
led to a funny discussion as to the relative merits of the modem 
beliefs, and it was curious to observe the jumble of facts and 
absurdities he had heaped together in his seclusion ; and yet, 
until recently, our own knowledge of Central America was little 



170 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

clearer than his of el Norte. The conversation led to one good 
result. We took care not to offend the little dignitj of Padre 
Ramierez, and the result was the discovery, through his agency, 
of some eggs and beans, to which we paid our respects with the 
voracity of tigers. Let the traveler in the mountains of Cen- 
tral America cultivate the padres, and it is seldom such spiritual 
acquaintance will not prove serviceable in satisfying his wants. 
A mouthful of excellent Cognac, with which we rewarded the 
holy man's exertions in our behalf, fully repaid him for his 
trouble. 

Our hammocks were slung from the rafters of the house, and 
into them we bundled, and smoked ourselves to sleep by the 
blaze of the fire. Long before daylight Eafael awoke me, and 
presented the usual cup of strong coifee ; and finding the mules 
ready packed and saddled, we mounted, and left town without 
stopping to bid adieu to our acquaintances of the previous night. 
We exchanged salutations with a number of village beauties 
leaving the stream near the town with the day's water on their 
heads, and recommenced ascending the sierra. By ten o'clock 
we were in the pine region. The belt of pine crowning the en- 
tire mountains of Honduras above the altitude of about 2500 
feet is regularly defined, and seems to form a fringe along this 
portion of the Pacific slope. The air, until nearly noon, w^as 
cool and bracing, and the thermometer at daybreak showed a 
temperature of 68°. 

As we ascended, we firequently turned to gaze back upon the 
scene, increasing in grandeur at every step of ascent. Far be- 
low us lay the mass of mountains we had passed the day be- 
fore. The coast volcanoes were now hid in the intervening low- 
land mists, and the view was bounded by the succession of val- 
leys and decreasing hills, until, in the distance, they seemed 
merged into a plain. Ridges upon ridges, running mostly to 
the southeast, presented a picture of grand and silent majesty. 
They were intersected with smaller spurs going in opposite di- 
rections. Pursuing our route, we crossed several brawling tor- 
rents, seeking their way to some branch of the larger rivers be- 
low, but now leaping in wild freedom from rock to dell, or sput- 
tering along in foaming rapids. 

At noon we reached a compactly-built town, with its adobe 



SAVANNA GRANDE. 171 

church and paved Plaza, known as Savanna Grande, or the 
great plain. This is four leagues from La Venta, and occupies, 
like that place, a valley surrounded by a hedge of bald hills. 
The pine region extends from below this point quite over the 
Cordilleras, down the Atlantic slope much lower than on the Pa- 
cific side. The good Padre Domingo Borjas was an old friend 
of the family of my companion, and, recognizing his features as 
we halted before his little residence, he waddled out and wel- 
comed us with true hospitality. A young student, who seemed 
to divide his attention between his religious studies and attend- 
ing upon the wants of the padre, brought in the remains of the 
morning meal, consisting of a tortilla or two, which vanished in 
a twinkling. While our beasts were eating in the Plaza, we en- 
tered into conversation with our host, who, like most of the Cen- 
tral American priests, was intelligent, but ignorant of all matters 
not pertaining to his calling. In a little niche of his study were 
a dozen well-thumbed Mexican and Guatemalan editions of 
Spanish authors, and a few coarse water-colored prints of saints 
hung against the wall. Here I saw the first specimens of sil- 
ver ore, and also some bits of alum, of which the padre said a 
mine existed near by. When he heard that my object was to 
examine the silver mines of the country, and perhaps return 
with a gTcat American company to work them, he hastened out 
of the house, and presently returned with several residents of 
the town, some of them sporting no article of clothing but a shirt, 
and extremely scanty ones they were. These worthies com- 
menced with one voice to describe certain silver mines they 
claimed to be the owners of, and insisted upon my remaining at 
Savanna Grande a week to visit them. 

The town is the largest in this district, and is the centre of a 
thriving trade in aguardiente, which is manufactured in the vi- 
cinity in large quantities. The plantain-tree flourishes here, as 
in all sections of Honduras. It is to Central America what the 
potato is to Europe and the United States. It is an ingredient 
in every dish, and is served up boiled, roasted, baked, stewed, 
fried, and raw. According to Humboldt, the plantain afibrds 
forty times more nutriment than the potato, and an acre of them 
is equal to one hundred and thirty-three acres of wheat ! It 
may thus be imagined that in a tropical climate, where the las- 



172 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

situde consequent upon the heat will not permit the sturdy toil 
of the North, the culture of a fruit so easily grown as the plant- 
ain should be universal. 

Crossing the sierras, we found them growing in every cleared 
space of ground. The poorest Indian can afford this luxury, 
which he has only to pluck from among the golden clusters 
within reach of his hand, and from Guatemala to Costa Eica 
the table of the wealthiest citizen is never without them. Like 
the macaroni of the Lazaroni in Naples, it is at once a luxu- 
ry and an indispensable article of food. Father Borjas states 
that, since the commencement of the locust scourge, the poorer 
classes of the state must have starved but for the plantain, and 
cited an instance of the recent invasion of Honduras by the Gua- 
temalans under Guardiola, when the inhabitants of Gracias 
carried the plantains into the mountains as they fled from the 
troops, who were finally obliged to quit the country to avoid 
starving. He concluded his remarks by denominating Hondu- 
ras as the Russia of Central America, from the fact that it can 
never be successfully invaded when the people are unanimous 
against the enemy. 

We parted from the good padre with regret, and resumed our 
journey toward Cerro de Ule, the highest peak of the western 
Cordillera of the state. A few miles beyond the town we pass- 
ed the field of the battle fought in 1827 between Colonels Dias 
and Justo Mille, two of the principal revolutionary leaders of 
that day. The place was well calculated for a guerrilla fight, 
and my companion recounted some chivalric deeds of the con- 
test with the pride of the Spaniard mantling his cheek. It was 
here that Morazan, " the Washington of Central America," first 
signalized himself in battle. Descending a steep hill, we came 
to the hacienda of Trinidad. Here a collection of really pretty 
senoritas, and rather extensive preparations in the way of cakes, 
coyol wine, jugs of aguardiente, new dresses, and gaudily-capar- 
isoned horses, showed my friend that a wedding was about to 
be celebrated. "Aha!" said he, with a gay laugh, "now we 
shall see fun, besides getting something to eat." 

We dismounted with many salutations, and exchanged com- 
pliments after the fashion of the country with these bright-eyed 
girls, when an inner door opened, and a wrinkled beldame met 



A WEDDING PAETY. 173 

US with a cold ^^Adios, senores T We replied with all the 
warmth and alacrity of hungry men on their good behavior, 
but we soon found that we had mistaken our customer. She 
first harshly ordered the muchaclias into the house, and then 
answered our request to purchase something to eat with the us- 
ual " 8enoi\ no hay.'''' Now, as we could see through the chinks 
of the brushwood out-house several persons busily engaged cut- 
ting up a newly-slaughtered bullock, and knew, moreover, that 
another was being driven up to undergo a similar fate, we voted 
this the excess of meanness, and entered into a lengthy argu- 
ment with the old dame, which, however, resulted in our dis- 
comfiture. 

Louder and louder came the noise of spatting tortillas from 
within, and with every change of the breeze we were tantalized 
with the savory smell of their baking and the roasting of fat 
beef. The door was shut in our faces, and we were just mount- 
ing, with a wrathful malediction on the house and its inhospita- 
ble inmates, when a low " h — s — t !" from the farther corner of 
the dwelling attracted my attention. Two bright, intelligent 
eyes invited, and again alighting, I reached the spot just in time 
to receive an immense chunk of beef, warm from the slaughter- 
yard, from the fair hands of the bride herself! Nor was this all. 
Trippmg softly back, she returned in an instant with a coarse 
cloth filled with savory frijoles and corn-cakes fried in tnante- 
quilla. Before I could return my thanks, she disappeared with 
a low laugh and a whispered " Vaya I vaya P I shook the 

plunder in silent triumph at T , whose sombre features 

lighted up with pleasure as he gazed. 

We renewed our journey, and in a few minutes encountered 
a troop of mounted friends on their way to the scene of the nup- 
tials. Here, at least, was no old woman to be jealous of 
strangers. We all dismounted, and my companion introduced 
me to half a dozen natives of Tegucigalpa, and fine-looking fel- 
lows they were, to say nothing of three slight but elegant fe- 
male forms, whose closely-drawn veils left us to imagine the 
dark, flashing eyes and vivacious faces of the Spanish beauty. 
An hour was passed pleasantly under the pines, and as our new 
acquaintances were well supplied with Cognac and fruit, we felt 
no disposition to part company. At length every body mounted. 



174 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

and we saw our wedding-party galloping through the woods, 
and sending back shouts of merry laughter long after they had 
passed from view. 

We now began the ascent of Cerro de Jlle, on the slope of 
which is situated the village of Nueva Arcadia. The mount- 
ain gusts came heavy and fitfully, denoting an approaching 
storm. We toiled painfully upward for another hour, following 
an uneven, zigzag path worn into the rocks by mule-travel. 
The sun sank into a sea of mist and clouds. We had nearly 
attained the highest traveled point on this part of the Cordille- 
ras. The path, barely discernible in the rapidly-approaching 
darkness, extended along a nearly level space of land more 
thickly wooded than any we had passed since leaving the tierras 
calientes, and rather resembling a forest than any pine woods 
we had yet seen. These appeared the gloomier in the obscuri- 
ty of the night, which soon overtook us, accompanied by a rain- 
storm momentarily increasing, until we found it impossible to 
keep the road. Often dismounting and proceeding on foot, we 
toiled slowly along, wet through by the squalls which passed, 
howling in quick succession through the trees, roaring grandly 
among the mountains. Yivid lightning, such as is rarely seen 
out of the tropics, flashed along the heavens, and peals of thun- 
der added their voice to the sublimity of the scene. 

In the lulls we could hear the ominous dashing of some 
mountain torrent, swollen into fury, and foaming down its rocky 
bed. As night set in we had noticed that the sierra broke off 
to the left into deep declivities, in our anxiety to avoid which 
we pushed too far into the forest, and, after an hour's ineffect- 
ual struggle among fallen trees and brambles, came to the un- 
comfortable conviction that we were lost. As it was not yet 
ten o'clock, we looked forward with no pleasant anticipations to 
a night of merciless storm, utter darkness, and no hope of shel- 
ter. To -proceed in this impenetrable gloom was impossible, 
and the natives, used as they were to the sierras, could not re- 
trace our steps with any degree of certainty. 

We dismounted, and hewed down with the machetes the lower 
branches around us, and, collecting such decayed sticks and logs 
as the darkness would permit, erected a temporary chosa like the 
den of a Digger Indian, and spread over it the blankets of the 



A STOKM IN THE SIERRA.. 175 

party. Blinded with the rain and lightning, which ever and 
anon illumined the dark vistas of the forest like a sudden gleam 
of Pandemonium, we crept, wet and shivering, beneath this 
scanty refuge, and huddled together after vainly attempting to 
kindle a fire with the water-soaked twigs which Yicente brought. 
To sleep was impossible, and., to crown our misfortunes, the 
clumsy wretch of a Rafael, in unloading one of the mules, had 
smashed the bottle of aguardiente^ thus depriving us of even 
that doubtful stimulus. Now it was that we regretted our pro- 
longed stay at the hacienda of Trinidad, interlarding our dis- 
jointed mutterings with occasional rather ungrateful anathemas 
upon the house and its inmates. With scarcely a " let up," the 
storm continued its malignant fury until nearly dawn, when the 
wet and cold becoming insufferable, we crawled out, determined 
to push on in some direction, no matter where. Any motion to 
keep the blood in circulation seemed preferable to the benumb- 
ed misery of inaction. 

The mules, which had been tied by their riattas to the sur- 
rounding trees, were again loaded, and, Vicente taking the lead, 
we struck off to the westward, hoping by daylight to fall in with 
the road. My pocket compass enabled us to preserve a straight 
course, and, after an hour's tearing through the woods, we were 
gladdened with the '''■Hoo-pah ! viva la camina real r from the 
half-crazy Yicente. We had reached the beaten track, still stretch- 
ing upward along the bald peak of Cerro de Ule. 

At noon we came to the small hamlet of Nueva Arcadia, 
4600 feet above the sea. It would be difficult to describe the 
utter wretchedness and squalor of these mountain villages. The 
races inhabiting them, though hardy and apparently healthy, 
are but little above the grade of brutes. We stopped at a de- 
serted mud hut, and, thrusting open the door, entered with the 
eagerness of hunger, and set about preparing breakfast. Sud- 
denly T made a leap out at the door, ejaculating, 

" Caramha! que j)ulgas estas T 

He might well be excused for his precipitancy : his clothing 
sparkled with the rabid little insects, and the nipping of the few 
who had now inserted themselves into my neck and sleeves con- 
vinced me that I was equally alive with them. Breakfast was 
forgotten instanter, and the next half hour devoted to a species 



176 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

of Feejee Island war-dance, to the great glee of the frowsy-head- 
ed little savages who had, as usual, collected around to stare at 
the strangers. The thermometer at one o'clock P.M. indicated 
71° of Fahrenheit. Shortly after our arrival the mountains were 
again enveloped in clouds, and a heavy rain commenced which 
lasted the rest of the day. Though we could have reached Te- 
gucigalpa before night, I proposed to build a fire and devote the 
remainder of the day to drying our equipage, rather than risk 
an attack of calentura by continuing our fatiguing scramble 
among the rocky gorges through which the route still led. 

The village is surrounded by pine forests, which, as I have 
said, commence at an altitude of about 2500 feet, and clothe 
nearly the entire range of the Cordilleras of Central America. 
In localities where these do not occur, their place is supplied by 
low oaks and other upland shrubbery. The pine of the sierra 
does not attain the size of the Northern tree, being rarely over 
twenty -five inches in diameter, and from forty to eighty feet in 
feet in height. It is of the yellow and pitch-pine species, and 
specimens of the burs, and also of the bark and inner wood, 
which I brought from Olancho, as well as from the Pacific slope 
of the mountains, compared favorably with the best Northern 
lumber. The limestone character of the mountain, scantily 
covered with soil, affords but a slight hold for their roots. I 
often passed miles of pines prostrated by the winter northers, 
the roots of which had apparently extended laterally rather than 
downward, creeping among the interstices of the rocks, and pre- 
senting at the uptorn butts a mass of white, dried paste, com- 
posed of limestone, disintegrated quartz, and clay. 

These features continued quite across the sierras into the De- 
partment of Olancho, where the pine region extends lower than 
on the Pacific side. The pine is generally straight-grained, and 
fully charged with pitch, which causes conflagTations in the 
woods. Unlike those of North America, the forests of Hondu- 
ras are of a scanty growth, the trees standing several yards 
apart, and generally choked with underbrush. They inspire 
the traveler with none of the sublime admiration experienced in 
the grander forests of the United States. 

Our stay in Nueva Arcadia through this day and the suc- 
ceeding night would have been positively uncomfortable with 



SUMMIT OF CERRO DE ULE. I77 

the cold Ibut for the bright pitch-pine fire we kept blazing in 
the centre of the hut, having first fumigated it and burned out 
the fleas. At ten o'clock P.M. my thermometer showed a tem- 
perature of 60°, which was the coolest weather I had yet seen 
in the country. A chilly easterly wind succeeded the rain, and 
made us glad to wrap ourselves in thick blankets. At dawn 
we saddled, and, passing along the slope of Ule, stopped to gaze 
back upon the panorama beneath us, which, in the slow-moving 
clouds hanging around the distant peaks, resembled the troubled 
ocean heaving in a tempest. 

We left the peak of Ule on our left, and, as it seemed, sev- 
eral hundred feet above us. I judged its altitude to be about 
5000 feet above the sea. The crest of the mountains here pre- 
sented a succession of table-lands and plateaus, with a shallow 
but fertile soil. The country was evidently productive, as small 
haciendas were scattered along its extent, which we soon found 
began to slope gently to the northeast. We had reached the 
summit of the Cordilleras^ and I could not repress an exclama- 
tion of pleasure at noticing the course of the numerous rills run- 
ning toward the Atlantic. These, however, discharge into the 
Rio Grande, passing near Tegucigalpa in the valley beyond, and 
emptying as the Moromulca into the Gulf of Fonseca. 

Here we observed small groves of the wild guava, generally 
detached from all other trees, and containing small yellow fruit 
of the size of the apricot. Its sweet, aromatic flavor was more 
than grateful. The guava is eaten at all seasons. Its effect is 
pleasant and assuages thirst ; the pulp is rather glutinous, but 
firm, and melts in the mouth ; the fruit opens easily with the 
pressure of the hands. It is cultivated in the lower countries, 
where it becomes finer than when growing wild in the up- 
lands. The tree is an awkward, scrubby affair, with small, 
blunt leaves. 

Our rapid ride along this level and interesting country -was 
an agreeable contrast to our struggle up the steeps of the 
mountains. The remainder of the trip would be downward to 
Tegucigalpa, and we hurried along our jaded beasts in pleased 
anticipation of the comforts of civilized life. The plain extends 
a distance of several leagues, prettily wooded and watered, with 
some of the productions of the temperate, and all of the tropical 

M 



178 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

regions growing in profusion. Here I saw the first Irish pota- 
toes under cultivation ; the market is Tegucigalpa, where they 
are purchased as a rarity by some of the wealthier families. 
The cereals are also raised on these upland plains. ' The view 
was surprising to one taught to regard Central America as the 
birth-place of plagues and fevers. 

The whole country was of an emerald green, and dotted with 
horses and cattle. The crowing of cocks, and the many sounds 
of busy life, showed it to be the scene of industry and thrift. 
We passed twenty-two haciendas, each of which was the centre 
of a little cultivated field, and had its quota of live-stock in the 
shape of pigs, fowls, and screaming brats ; all was in agreeable 
contrast to the wretched hamlets we had passed since leaving 
the coast. The air was bracing and exhilarating. This is one 
of the highest points to which cultivation has been carried in 
Honduras. From here the descent is rapid, the road leading 
around the edges of a precipice several hundred feet deep, and 
offering wild but extremely picturesque scenery. After an ab- 
rupt descent over rudely-constructed mule-paths, we came upon 
the E-io Grande. For the last hour we had known, from its 
boisterous voice heard far up in the sierra, that its waters were 
swollen to an unusual height. We approached the river by a 
winding path worn through the limestone. Here we found a 
deep river dashing among great rocks, and doubly angry after 
the heavy rains. 

A party of pig-drivers were resting on the banks, awaiting 
the subsidence of the waters, which, in Honduras, rise and fall 

with remarkable quickness, influenced by the rains. T 

proposed to swim across one of the smoother rapids, in order at 
once to astonish the natives and ascertain the possibility of 
reaching the city before night. We plunged in to find the 
depth, but were soon glad to get back, and my companion, who 
was farthest out, came near losing his hold of a rock and going 
down the rapids. We buffeted the torrent to no avail, and got 
ashore exhausted and crestfallen. The drovers laughed, and 
we had scarcely commenced dressing when a sudden thunder- 
shower drove us into a neighboring jungle under a cliff. Here 

T scared out a nest of black wasps, and away we started 

again for a hut a few hundred yards below, the natives yelling 



CROSSING THE RIO GRANDE. 179 

with delight, as well they might do, for our appearance was any- 
thing but a dignified one. T did not tell this party that I 

was "e^ ministro,'''' for reasons best known to himself. The 
miichachos unloaded the mules, and we were soon laughing heart- 
ily at our adventure. I was thankful that our assailants were 

not the dreaded "choker hornets," of which T gave me a 

graphic account. In Conder's work on Mexico and Guatemala, 
p. 186, they are described as "a species of venomous wasp, 
called ahorcadores (hangmen), on account of the singular reme- 
dy which is believed to be the only means of averting the fatal 
eifects of their sting ; this is to plunge the sufferer immediately 
into the water, or to compress the throat, in the manner of hang- 
ing, until he is nearly exhausted." The duena of the hut pre- 
pared a palatable meal for us, and a few hours later, the river 
having fallen, we saddled and made our final start for Teguci- 
galpa, where the president and officers of the government had 
been located for several weeks. 

From here the distance to the city is three leagues. At every 
turn we encountered evidences of the vicinity of a flourishing 
town. Mule-trains, loaded with the products of the country, 
passed contentedly along toward the general market. Snug- 
country houses, thatched with palm-leaves or roughly tiled, stood 
tilong the road, which had now become a level and well-beaten 
highway. Horsemen, returning to town from a visit to some 
hacienda in the outskirts, cantered gayly past, and turned to take 
a second look at our travel-stained little cavalcade. Pedestrians, 
bearing loads of vegetables and fruits upon their heads, shouted 
the never-failing '■'■Buenos tardes, cahcdleros f as we passed. 
The country seemed in a happy and prosperous state, and al- 
most unconscious of the political turmoil marking its history. 
With the exception of the horsemen, all we saw were sin zapa- 
tos, or barefooted. 

As we passed over a small ridge, T directed my atten- 
tion to an opening in the trees, through which I obtained my 
first view of Tegucigalpa, situated in the northeastern extremity 
of an extensive valley known as "-El Potrero.''' The sun had 
just emerged from a bank of rain-clouds, and the many white 
turrets and belfries of the city glistened in the afternoon sun- 
hght. A beautiful rainbow spanned the valley, and the verdure 



180 



EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 




<■ « 







of the adjacent mountains, blending with the purple tints of the 
declining day, heightened the charm of romance, never entirely 
separable from these secluded relics of the better days of Spain. 
We pursued our ride over a grassy plain, adorned with flowers 
and spotted with bunches of cactus. At intervals we caught 
glimpses of the city between the foliage ; the increasing num- 
bers of people showed it to be a. dia de fiesta, and as we neared 
the place, the sound of many church-bells came faintly and mu- 
sically through the air. The plain over which we approached 
the city is arid and dry in the summer season. Here Cabanas, 
with two hundred men, was defeated in 1838 by the Guatema- 
lans with eight hundred. 

We now came to the River Guasaripe, flowing slowly through 
the level country, and emptying in the Rio Grande near the city. 
This we forded easily, and on the opposite side met a number 

of mounted citizens, who, seeing T (a son-in-law of Mora- 

zan), surrounded him and exchanged congratulations. On my 
being introduced to the party, they turned back and formed a 
sort of triumphal escort. A smart gallop brought us to the lit- 
tle outer town of Comayaguela, or little Comayagua. This has 



TEGUCIGALPA. 181 

a distinct jurisdiction from Tegucigalpa, and, being rather ro- 
mantically situated, is the general afternoon resort of the citi- 
zens. We passed through, and crossed the white sandstone 
bridge' spanning the torrent at the entrance of the city. Here 
the Rio Grande, augmented by the waters of the Guasaripe and 
Rio Chiquito, glances down from the dividing ridge between the 
Departments of Tegucigalpa and Yoro, and flows into the Rio 
de Nacaome. The bridge has ten arches, the abutments being 
pointed on the upper face to break the force of the water, the 
old bridge of the Spaniards having been washed away in 1830, 
at which time, it is said, the present one was constructed by 
workmen from Guatemala. Here the city of Tegucigalpa com- 
menced. 

We entered a paved street, bordered with handsome stone 
and plastered adobe houses, the walls painted blue, red, cream- 
color, or white, after the fancy of the proprietor. The grated 
balconies, narrow, grass-grown sidewalks, regularly tiled roofs, 
paved patios, the peculiar and simple style of architecture, the 
cries of street-venders, the equestrian display, and the dark-eyed, 
mantilla' d faces gazing listlessly upon us from the cool, prison- 
like residences, reminded me more of Havana than any city I 
had yet seen in Central America. The lack of the eternal din 
of bugles and drums, and the absence of the volante of Cuba, 
however, soon destroyed the resemblance in my mind. 

The streets are all named, and the town struck me at first 
glance as an exception to the usual ruined, deserted appearance 
of Central American cities. This is the head-quarters of fash- 
ion and gayety in Honduras. My various letters of introduc- 
tion were rather a source of embarrassment, as the first to whom 
I should present myself would, in compliance with the estab- 
lished usage of the place, consider me his guest during my visit. 

Out of the package I finally selected one from Castellon to 
the hospitable Senor Don Jose Maria Losano, one of the wealth- 
iest residents of Tegucigalpa. T , who was a nephew of 

the old Don, nodded assent to my look of inquiry, and to the 
Calle de Morazan we made our way, my companion answering 
kind salutations from all quarters. We entered the paved 
street, and, looking beyond, saw the heads of two elderly gen- 
tlemen pop out of the grated ventana de sala for a moment, 



182 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

then suddenly disappear. In another moment the proprietor of 
the mansion had gained the street, and was shaking hands heart- 
ily with my companion. As soon as I was introduced, the house 
and all it contained was placed " at my disposition." 

How grateful to our aching limbs and heated brows was the 
quiet coolness of the back corridor of Don Jose Maria's resi- 
dence! Having thrown off our wet and soiled clothing, and 
donned a presentable attire from our trunks, we swung at ease 
in the two comfortable hammocks, enjoying to the full a deli- 
cious draft of tiste and the agreeable conversation of the '■'■Nina 

Teresa.'''' As T had assured me would be the case, I found 

that my name had preceded me, and the visitors who occupied 
our time until night persisted in calling me " doctor," and plac- 
ing their houses at my disposition. I had long since learned 
the formal style used in the country, and what with exchanging 
cigarros, and repeatedly leaving the hammock to return the 
many salutations, we were both heartily glad when bedtime ar- 
rived. 



CHAPTER X. 

Interview with President Cabanas. — Personal Appearance. — Opinion of Olan- 
cho. — Past and Present of Tegucigalpa. — Churches. — "La Paroquia." — A 
Serenade. — Sunday Scenes. — The Plaza Market. — Morning. — Bill of Pare. — 
Liquors. — Chocolate. — Bread. — Potatoes. — Manners at Table. — Servants. — 
Style of Building. — Courtesies of Visiting. — Flowers and Plower Gardens. — 
Birds. — Amalgamation. — Jealousies of the Blacks. — The Liberal Party. — 
Health of Natives. — Couriers. — ^Amusements. — Dullness of the City. 

DuEiNG the few days passed in exchanging visits and deliv- 
ering letters of introduction, I found opportunity to study the 
character and habits of the secluded population, among whom I 
had already acquired several estimable friends. I determined 
now to lay before President Cabanas the object of my visit to 
Honduras. I had received previous intimation that he under- 
stood my views, and had expressed himself favorably disposed 
toward them. 

Learning that the President would be unoccupied at 10 

o'clock, I entered with T the Casa del Gohierno, situated 

on the southern bank of the river, and directly overlooking the 



INTERVIEW WITH CABANAS. 183 

bridge. A sentinel stood at the door, wlio presented arms as 
we passed into an interior corridor, paved with large square 
flags, opening out of which were apartments appropriated to the 
various civil and military officers. The house was more spa- 
cious and in better repair than any I had yet seen. In the 
court-yard below grew a variety of beautiful trees, and several 
flights of stone steps led from this arena to rooms along the 
second story ; the house is one of dos altos, and is regarded with 
peculiar interest as the former property and residence of Mora- 
zan, who was a native of Tegucigalpa. 

Passing along the corridor we were met by a servant, who, 
with rather profuse civilities, ushered us into a spacious and 
gratefully cool apartment ; the western side opened, through 
two wide folding-doors, into a balcony, from which the lady of 
Greneral Morazan (a son of the former President of Central 
America) was enjoying the prospect. She received us politely, 
and had just finished a prettily-turned welcome to Honduras, 
with the hope that my enterprise would prove a successful one, 
when an attendant announced that the President would be 
pleased to see us. 

A curtain of faded red damask, extended across the opposite 
end of the room, served to separate the oficina from the sola. 
This was drawn aside, and, passing its ample folds, we entered 
a small cabinet ; the furniture, consisting of a few desks filled 
with red-taped files of papers, a large table, and a scanty sup- 
ply of chairs, denoted its use. T , who was related to him, 

advanced, and introduced me to the President. He was seated 
at a desk, from which he turned toward us as we entered. Ca- 
banas at this time was fifty-two years of age ; but the cares 
and hardships of military life had furrowed his features. His 
countrymen have ever placed an unwavering confidence in his 
public course, to which, even among those inimical to his liberal 
policy, none have ascribed other than the purest motives. As 
I replied to his manly expressions of welcome, so a7iti- Spanish 
in their evident sincerity, I felt that here at least was a man 
whose public career is admitted to be unstained by a single 
cruelty, or debased by one treacherous or ungenerous act. 

During the conversation I had opportunity to compare him 
with the many current reports respecting his personal appear- 



184 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

ance. His rather diminutive stature was offset Tby a remarka- 
bly erect mien, and in conversation his animated gestures were 
in keeping with the intelligent play of his features. He is, in- 
deed, a noble wreck of manhood, and full of placid dignity. 
His eyes are mild, hut dark, and full of intellect. The hair, 
which was once brown, is now gray, but long, while the beard, 
patriarchal in its length and snowy hue (and which, in accord- 
ance with his vow, he has never cut since the murder of JMora- 
zan), imparts additional interest to the sad expression of his 
face.' Cabanas is covered with wounds received in unnumber- 
ed fights, many of them lost to history in the seclusion of the 
little theatre of war where they have occurred, but almost in- 
credible in savage fury and bloody reckoning. 

The President accepted my letters, and expressed himself 
favorably disposed to the introduction of American capital and 
enterprise for the development of the resources of Honduras. 
He referred to his own recent action in dispatching Seiior Bar- 
rundia to the United States with full powers to negotiate for 
the extension of special privileges to American citizens, and 
lamented the untimely death of the envoy at the moment the 
objects of his mission were about being consummated. He 
spoke particularly of the Department of Olancho and the famous 

Guayape E-iver, and afterward advised T to deter me from 

my proposed visit there, as the inhabitants, separated from the 
rest of the state by formidable mountain barriers, had, since the 
independence of 1821, considered themselves a sort of local 
Democratic community, refusing to contribute toward the pub- 
lic expenses, and regarding strangers with jealousy and suspi- 
cion. In fact, during this interview, he twice expressed a de- 
cided disinclination to have me enter an unknown section of 
Central America, with the inhabitants of which the supreme 
government had repeatedly been in dispute as to impositions for 
the support of the general safety, and who had even recently 
arisen in arms to repel the national recruiting officers. He, 
however, admitted that, with full and explicit letters, and a rea- 
sonable degree of prudence, I might visit the locality of the Ze- 
layas in Olancho, be hospitably received, and perhaps enabled 
to effect some important contracts with them in relation to the 
celebrated gold region of the Guayape. These, however, being 



CABANAS AND THE AMERICANS. 185 

time out of mind the prerogative of the civilized Indians inhab- 
iting that section of country, might possibly lead to jealousies 
on their part. This and other scraps of information I obtained 
from Cabanas, who, I felt assured, spoke frankly and above- 
board. It was evident that his information respecting this ex- 
treme end of Honduras was limited. He admitted he had nev- 
er been there, and this I discovered to be the case with every 
military leader in the state excepting Morazan, who penetrated 
to Lepaguare with a few followers in 1829, and entered into a 
treaty with the Olanchanos. 

As my object was to obtain first the permission of the su- 
preme government to make explorations and enter into contracts 
with natives of Honduras, and afterward to visit the auriferous 
region, of which I had heard vague accounts since my arrival in 
the country, I was in no haste to quit Tegucigalpa without 
making an attempt to procure some essential privileges from 
the government. 

These subjects discussed, the general referred to the United 
States and the policy of the American government toward Cen- 
tral America. His frequent interviews with Mr. Squier at Co- 
mayagua and Gracias had enabled him to form a tolerably cor- 
rect idea of our country. I am convinced that Cabanas would 
make any sacrifice to be the means of encouraging American 
enterprise in Honduras. Besides his instrumentality in pro- 
curing the passage of the Inter-oceanic Eail-road grant, he has 
done every thing consistent with the honor of his country in 
throwing open the state to immigration. Thirty years of un- 
remitting service in the countless political strifes of the coun- 
try have convinced him, as well as many other leading states- 
men of Central America, that it is only by the superior en- 
ergy and intelligence of North Americans and Europeans that 
the natural resources of the states can be developed. He ex- 
pressed himself ready to lend his aid to all honorable negotia- 
tions with our countrymen, but implacably opposed to any fili- 
buster attempts against Central America. I afterward learned 
that the news of Colonel Kinney's colonization scheme had re- 
cently arrived in Tegucigalpa, and that persons disposed to less 
confidence in my objects than Cabaiias had associated me with 
that enterprise. This retarded my operations, especially with 



Igg EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

the more virulent opponents of Americans in Central Amer- 
ica. 

It was late in the day when I took leave of Cabanas, whom 
I have since had cause to regard with an affection which noth- 
ing short of his kindness of heart and unassuming courtesy of 
demeanor could have created. 

Tegucigalpa, though not the seat of government in Hondu- 
ras, is the largest and most important city in the republic. Its 
population is now 12,000, composed of one half mestizos and 
mulattoes, the remainder divided between whites, negroes, quad- 
roons, and Indians. The pure whites are far in the minority. 
The city, which is regularly laid out, is about two centuries old, 
and was known in the days of the early Spanish settlers as 
Taguzgalpa. Since the independence the place has decreased 
in population, owing to the emigration of aristocratic Spanish 
families, whose wealth, accumulated by means of the celebrated 
silver mines in this department, was suddenly withdrawn to 
Spain and the Havana. With their departure and the imme- 
diate commencement of the wars, which have at last exhausted 
the energies of the country, the mining industry of the depart- 
ment became extinct. The blacks, who had worked the '■'■min- 
erales''' as slaves, became free by legislative action, and the 
miners, discouraged by taxes, gave up in despair. The work- 
men were seized and forcibly enlisted in the petty strifes be- 
tween the states. The mines fell to decay, or were purposely 
tilled up by their owners, who have, nevertheless, retained their 
claim to them from year to year. With the decline of the great 
branch of industry which had served to support the people, the 
city subsided into a dreamy quiet, from which it has not yet 
emerged. Such is the present condition of Tegucigalpa, once 
the most considerable mining city in Central America. Its 
large and substantially-built churches and private dwellings, 
now but sad relics of their former splendor, alone attest to the 
decay which a quarter of a century's indolence has entailed. 
Several of the mines have been opened within the last ten years, 
and operations resumed, but the proprietors, not possessing the 
means, information, or energy of their ancestors, make but fee- 
ble imitations of the old Spanish methods. 

During my two visits to Tegucigalpa and its immediate vicin- 



CHURCH OF LA PAROQUIA. 



187 



ity, in which nearly two montlis were spent, I made a large col- 
lection of notes and extracts from old Spanish and Guatemalan 
Avorks in relation to the former state of the silver mines and 
the political condition of the people. The country described is 
one whose resources, added to a temperate climate, is likely to 
attract the attention of Americans, and, it is reasonable to sup- 
pose, will eventually become settled by the Anglo- Saxon race, 
from the fact that our people may live there the year round 
without prejudice to health. 

The principal buildings in the city are the few churches and 
old convents, now divested of their former riches, but still pre- 
serving the half Moorish style of architecture. Most of these 
are sadly dilapidated. The largest and most venerable pile 
among them is J^a Paroquia^ occupying the east side of the 




LA PAEOQUIA AND C0:NVENT OF SAN FE/VN(JISCO. 

Plaza of that name, and only excelled by two churches in the 
five states, those of Leon and Guatemala. This was built at 
the expense of a devout padre, one of the great Zelaya family, 
whose branches now extend to all parts of Central America. 
The only public clock in the state hangs in the belfry of one of 



188 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

the towers. The "building is lofty, and occupies an entire square. 
A massive dome rises over the body of the church ; the cupola 
is surmounted by a crown, and topped with a large gilded cross. 
The edifice is built of burned brick, made in the country, and 
the whole plastered and whitewashed. The exterior is adorned 
with niched statues representing the saints, and a variety of 
carving illustrative of scriptural scenes. The interior is spa- 
cious, and ornamented with coarse portraits of the apostles and 
the holy family. A gallery extends around the inner walls, in 
one part of which a small, broken-winded organ peals forth dis- 
cordant strains at mass, accompanying the choral voices. 

On the second night after our arrival we were awakened by a 
loud knocking at the sola window, and, upon opening it, were 
saluted with a modest '-'■ Buena noche, cahalUros T while, at 
the same time, an itinerant band of serenaders, composed of per- 
formers on the guitar, violin, flute, and bass viol, commenced 
some very pretty selections from a favorite opera. The night 
was starry and calm, and the music, though any thing but sci- 
entific, had rather a romantic effect as it echoed softly among 
the moonlit walls of the opposite buildings. The party play- 
ed several waltzes, and finally I was surprised with a laughable 
attempt at Old Dan Tucker ! The metre was ill suited to the 
Spanish drawling style of music generally practiced in Hondu- 
ras, and had I heard the familiar voice of the razor-strop n\an, 
or Abby Folsom herself, I could scarcely have been more aston- 
ished. The principal performer had lived in Virgin Bay, Nica- 
ragua, and there had caught the air from the California passen- 
gers. 

The climate of this section of Honduras is not excelled for 
salubrity in all Central America. A volume could be written 
illustrating the pure, balmy quality of this upland atmosphere. 
During rxij stay here, the only uncomfortable hour was the ear- 
ly morning, when the air was always too sharp and bracing. 
A thermometrical table kept by me in various parts of the state 
for several months best illustrates the evenness of temperature 
in these mountains. On some days the rain, after falling with 
tropical fury, gives place to a pure, invigorating air, such as is 
sometimes felt after a summer thunder-shower in New England. 
In the warmer months the heat is rarely oppressive, and at the 



A TROPICAL IIAIL-STORM. 189 

coldest seasons fires are only occasionally required for comfort. 
It is here proper to mention a snow and hail storm occurring in 
December, 1848. Snow had never before been known on the 
highest lands of the state, nor had the mercury ever fallen to 
the freezing point : it was therefore the more surprising. A 
bank of black clouds was observed slowly to work up from the 
northeast, and centre about a league southwest of the city. 
Soon after, the air was darkened with " falling ice," as my in- 
formants denominated it, and the earth was quickly covered by 
the descending masses. Trees, plants, and birds were destroy- 
ed. The ice was spread over a space of two square leagues in 
such quantity as to remain on the ground for two weeks. 

This phenomenon, which, occurring in the torrid zone, may 
well excite the inquiry of the curious in such matters, is corrob- 
orated by the whole population of the city, few of whom had 
ever before seen ice. In some deep gullies the frozen sub- 
stance lay four feet deep. Many of the hail-stones weighed 
several ounces. Seiiores Vigil, Losano, Ferrari, and a multi- 
tude of citizens stood and witnessed the spectacle. The agua- 
doras, or water-bearers, came into the city for several days with 
cakes of ice (wrapped in cloths and balanced upon their heads) 
weighing from twelve to twenty pounds. These were eagerly 
bought, and used to cool drinking water. The ice fell for an 
hour. Prayers were offered in the churches that the great chu- 
basco de hielo had been averted by the saints from falling upon 
and destroying the city. 

The ceremonies of the Catholic Church are observed with 
scrupulous exactness. Many attend mass in the morning, and 
the clanging of bells is the only sound capable of arousing the 
people from a state of lethargy as profound as that in which the 
commerce and trade of the country itself are buried. A church 
procession is a matter of every-day occurrence. These usually 
pass through the Ccdle de Morazan. First appear twenty or 
thirty boys bearing lighted candles, which, if the display is for 
the departing soul of some inferma, are paid for by the family. 
The friends and relatives of the sick person follow, and after 
them four friars, bearing a silken awning or canopy over the pa- 
dre, who walks to the music of violins and a bass viol. From 
the rim of the canopy are suspended red silken tassels, support- 



190 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

ed by boys arrayed in white garments. Then follow a large 
procession of senoritas, repeating prayers for the soul of the 
passing spirit with a volubility quite remarkable to hear. The 
buzzing of many voices, the monotonous chanting of the priests, 
and the discordant scraping of stringed instruments struck me 
as quite sufficient to frighten any orderly and well-disposed soul 
out of the world. 

At the passing of such processions, the whole of Don Maria's 
household usually fell upon their knees and joined fervently in 
prayers for the afflicted neighbor. This remnant of the old ex- 
aggerated forms of Catholicism is, perhaps, well adapted to a 
population on whom it is necessary to impress a religious awe 
by the formalities of the creed. 

Among the many persons with whom I exchanged visits was , 
Senor Cacho, Minister of Hacienda, a gentleman some sixty 
years of age, but full of work and vivacity — patriotic and enthu- 
siastic on the Liberal question. This gentleman, a chemist as 
well as politician, is, moreover, the proprietor of several mines of 
cinnabar in the Department of Gracias, which he expressed an 
anxiety that I should visit. Seiior Cacho is strongly in favor 
of encouraging American immigration to Honduras, and so ex- 
pressed himself to me repeatedly. 

On Sunday one may see life in Tegucigalpa. This is ob- 
served rather as a day of recreation than of worship. The shops 
are open, and display their stock of goods to the best advant- 
age. Laborers have been paid off, and every body has mon- 
ey. The shops are well stocked with traps of all kinds : man- 
ufactured Sherry wine, imported via Balize, for $1 per bottle, 
and Champagne for $1.25. The principal stores are in the Pla- 
za and the streets opening from it. Many of the dealers are 
from Havana, which also supplies a considerable portion of the 
goods. Dry-goods shops were filled with what appeared to me 
costly dresses, and as for female finery, I saw almost every- 
thing a lady might call for : like an American country grocery, 
they contain every thing likely to meet with a ready sale. 

With fruits the market is well supplied during the morn- 
ing and early forenoon. These, consisting in part of liTnes, or- 
anges, nisjperos, papayas, cocoanuts, lemons, ananas, bananas, 
jocotes. Jigs, pine-apples, and melons, are spread in tempting 



MORNING CUSTOMS. 



191 



profusion on large pieces of cloth, on liides, or in baskets along 
the porch of the barracks, forming one side of the Plaza de la 
Paroquia. One may purchase with a silver medio (six cents) 
all the fruit he will find it safe to eat in a day. The market- 
women stand in groups around, and pass the day chatting with 
each other, or oftener engaged in loud laughter with the soldiers 
or loafing fellows always to be found congregated about the sun- 
ny porch. 

To enjoy life in these mountain regions, you must rise early 
and take the delightful breeze of the morning, when the dew is 
yet fresh on the plantain leaves, and the pavements of the town 
have not been submitted to their diurnal heating. Nothing can 
excel the sensations of the early riser as he issues forth and 
strolls in the brisk air toward the Plaza, or, if he is equal to 
the shock, wends his way to some secluded spot below the city, 
and joins the merry group splashing in the mad waters of the 




BKIDGE OF TEGUCIGALPA. 



river. From this you may easily reach the summit of Zapasu- 
ca, to the northwest of the city, overlooking Coraayaguela and 
the valley of the Rio Grande. Returning, you take a cup of 
coffee or cacao, and then promenade, or amuse yourself with a 
book ox La Gaceta from Guatemala until breakfast. This takes 



192 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

place abont ten o'clock, though it is often delayed ujitil nearly 
noon. 

The bill of fare for breakfast usually consists of boiled rice 
and beans, salads, bread, butter, and cheese, tortillas, cafe con 
leche, and fruit, and while I was in the country it rarely differed 
from this. For dinner you have vermicelli soup, roast beef, 
salad, and many of the vegetables common in the United States. 
Besides these, you have the ollas fried with garlic, the joicadillo 
of half-cooked lights, oil, rice, and plantains, higado or baked 
slices of liver, salchichas stuffed with lard and garlic, catamales 
filled with bits of fat meat and cheese, came cocido, calde, and, 
lastly, rice boiled with mantequilla and chiles. Verduras, or 
greens, a favorite accompaniment, consists of plantains, pieces of 
pumpkin, and cabbage. These comprise the common solid dish- 
es of the country ; but there is often, in addition, bread soup, and 
a mixture of rice and vegetables, the name of which is local, and 
has escaped me. This is the usual fare in the interior of Hon- 
duras. On the coast, to judge from an account given by Hen- 
derson, p. 134, the fare is more varied, and, perhaps, equally pal- 
atable. At a dinner were served up for a party of Englishmen 
calipash, soused raaniti, fricasseed guana, waree steaks, barbacued 
monkey, armadillo curry, turtle soup, parrot pie, roast antelope, 
smoked peccary, boiled Indian rabbit, stewed hiccatee, and cali- 
pee ! The author adds below, 

" Nee sibi ccenarum quivis temere arroget artem, 
Nonprius exacta tenui ratione saporum." — Hor., Sat. 

The fastidious stranger will find but few liquors in any part 
of Central America suited to his taste. The wines especially 
are a burlesque on the name. In the days of the Spanish rule 
the culture of the grape was prohibited, and since the rejection 
of the mother country the vine has not been introduced. The 
wine consists mostly of cheap imitations brought from Balize, 
Truxillo, or the Bay of Fonseca, to which points they are im- 
ported in English and Italian vessels. /St. Jxdian Medoc, Sher- 
ry, Champagne, and a variety of sweet mixtures labeled Elixir 
W Amour and other like names, are found in the tiendas. The 
aguardiente del pais is perhaps the most harmless liquor that 
can be taken in Central xlmerica. The doctors, foreign and na- 



MANUPACTUEE OF CHOCOLATE. 193 

tive, recommend its use in traveling. This is generally placed 
in a small decanter on the table at dinner, and serves as a settler 
after the meats. 

The prepared chocolate of Central America is somewhat like 
that brought from Mexico, but the method of preparing it is dif- 
ferent. After a hot day's ride I know nothing more soothing, 
and, at the same time, delightfully palatable, than a foaming cup 
of the chocolate de Honduras. I had a large boxful made to 
carry out of the country, and noted the manner in which it is 
"put up." A pound of cacao is baked or parched, being care- 
fully stirred, until the shell cracks, after which the husk is rub- 
bed or shelled off by chafing between the hands. It is then 
ground in the matete, as corn is prepared for tortillas, reducing 
the substance to an oily paste. About one ounce and a half 
of vanilla is added, with enough powdered cinnamon to suit the 
taste of the maker, and sugar if required. When this, by 
working, is reduced to a liquid consistency, it is allowed to drop 
in small round cakes, each of which, when hardened, makes two 
ordinary cups of chocolate by simply dissolving them in boiling 
water and cream. The top is covered with a fragrant froth. 
The steamers plying between San Francisco and San Juan del 
Sur have latterly brought an excellent quality of chocolate from 
Nicaragua, but I have never seen any to equal that made to or- 
der in Eastern Honduras. 

Wheaten bread in small rolls is sold at the street corners and 
left at the door by a barelegged panadero, who walks the streets 
with his stock in trade on his head. Tortillas are universally 
preferred, and are found, crisp and smoking, on every table. 
During Lent, the devout Catholics are supplied with dried oys- 
ters from Fonseca Bay, brought up the sierra in bags, and sold 
by the pound. These are eaten with potatoes. 

About twice a week I observed a dish oi papas, or Irish po- 
tatoes, on the table, which Don Jose Maria had evidently pro- 
cured as a special luxury for me. He always eyed them with 
pride, and was constantly urging me to load my plate with them. 
They were diminutive and quite white, but tasted very well witli 
any of the made dishes. The potato is said to have been 
brought to Central America from Peru, but one of the padres 
in Tegucigalpa assured me that it was indigenous, and that it 

N 



194 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS- 

could be found growing wild in the mountains. I never heard 
this statement corroborated. The potato can only be grown 
in the highest lands of the country. At Santa Lucia, about 
4500 feet above the sea, I saw a small potato-lield, from which, 
in March, some of the families of Tegucigalpa were being sup- 
plied. They bring a medio (six cents) a pound. They are 
planted immediately after the rains have moistened the earth 
sufficiently to admit of plowing. The method of cultivation is 
a rude imitation of that pursued at the North. The seed, in the 
lower country, quickly runs to balls. In the mountains of 
Guatemala this vegetable is also raised, and carried many 
leagues to market on the backs of mules. One day, at table, I 
ventured to assert, with as much unconcern as I could assume, 
that I had seen potatoes in California weighing three pounds 
(not an uncommon size there). Don Jose Maria gazed at the lit- 
tle vegetable marbles in the dish before us and then at me with 
an incredulous smile, but instantly remembering the courtesies 
of the host, he nodded assent. It was evident he regarded this 
as a traveler's tale. 

The manners at table are generally sedate and always cour- 
teous. Hilarity at meal-times is seldom seen. The custom of 
placing a tumbler for each person at table is unknown, the wa- 
ter being brought when the meal is finished. After dinner comes 
coifee, jams, or preserved fruit, and a variety of sugared sweet- 
meats. The health of the master and mistress of the house is 
pledged, as elsewhere, in the first glass of wine or other bever- 
age. Servants are difficult to procure in democratic Honduras, 
where every able-bodied fellow is liable to be seized as a sol- 
dier. The few that can be obtained are awkward, and require 
months of training to be made useful. They are generally mu- 
lattoes, and without intelligence. The cooking is done in a 
small building behind the dwelling-house, built of adobe ; the 
range or fire-place, also of adobe, is called \he,fogon. 

Most of the natives of Honduras reside on the ground floor. 
If you ask the reason of this, in Nicaragua, it is to avoid earth- 
quakes ; in Honduras, it is because their antepasados built m 
this manner — innovations being distasteful to the Spaniard. 
The principal apartment, denominated the sala^ is used as a 
parlor or reception-room, and here the family pass the greater 



EXCHANGING CIVILITIES. 195 

part of the day, doing nothing in the forenoon, and, as a friend 
once remarked to me, sitting at the window in the afternoon 
and evening to recover from the fatigue of it. ' The corridor or 
porch often extends quite around the house, the rear one facing 
upon a paved patio or yard generally containing a few fruit- 
trees, and surrounded with high mud walls, protected from the 
rains by roofs of tiles. The cocina or cook-house forms one 
side, and a stable the other. All these small buildings are 
kept nicely whitewashed. An immensity of clean shirt bosom 
and a newly-painted house are the peculiar pride of the Span- 
iard. 

The master of the house always meets his visitor as he en- 
ters, and, at his departure, ushers him to the door, holding his 
cane and hat. If you are particularly welcome, or your visit is 
regarded as an honor, your host accompanies you through the 
corridor quite to the street gate, and you will do well if you are 
able to make the concluding bow and have the final " adios, 
senor -miof for, no matter how often you repeat it, Don Fulano 
considers it a breach of etiquette not to have the last word in a 
leave-taking. I have often experimented in this, and never yet 
was able to gain a verbal victory over my entertainer. 

The residences of the wealthier classes are cleanly and cool, 
have neat gardens in the rear adorned with beautiful flowers, 
and birds of the country in wooden cages. Flower culture is 
not generally practiced, and in the higher lands one rarely meets 
with wild flowers of such size and beauty as should be expect- 
ed in the tropics. Nature seems to have reserved her gaudy 
colors for the plumage of birds, and has thus more than com- 
pensated for their absence in the floral kingdom. Hyacinths, 
roses, pinks, and honeysuckles, blue and white, were sometimes 
seen, and the latter frequently attains such profusion in a wild 
state as to choke and impede the growth of the corn, among 
which it clambers and flourishes. 

Among the birds in Tegucigalpa and vicinity I saw the ma- 
caw, goldfinch, redbird, greenbird (the beautiful verderon, with 
spotted breast), the yellow thrush of superb plumage, the par- 
rot, and many others. Some of these are not common to the 
temperate uplands of the interior, but are brought here from 
their native plains of the coast. There is also a very beautiful 



196 



EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 



srecies of the orange-colored thrush, with a black hreast. The 

bird of Paradise, or 
one not unlike it, is 
found in Guatemala 
and Honduras, and 
killed for the surpass- 
)v^ ing beauty of its plu- 
mage. It is the an- 
cient quetzal {Trogons 
Hesplendens), and in 
Honduras is some- 
times called the j)alo- 
ma real, from its fan- 
cied resemblance in 
shape to the dove. 
Its entire body is of 
a pale rose-color, the 
head a shade darker, 




TKOGOJS'S KESPLENDEKS. 



and the wings of a 
lustrous green. The tail of this splendid bird has seven feath- 
ers which attain the length of nearly three feet. A specimen 
is said to have been exhibited at the Universal Exposition at 
Paris in 1855, but, with that exception,! believe this rare crea- 
ture has not been noticed by ornithologists. The same may be 
said of many gorgeous denizens of the forests of interior Central 
America. 

The system of amalgamation of races which has been intro- 
duced into Honduras during the last thirty years has almost 
obliterated the distinguishing line between the blacks and 
whites. This is, perhaps, the greatest misfortune that could 
have befallen the country. The mixture of the oiFshoots of the 
white, negro, and Indian have entailed upon the country a race 
ranging in hue from chocolate to cream-color. An occasional 
white may be found among the descendants of the old aristo- 
cratic Spanish families, who have jealously avoided intermarry- 
ing with the Indians or blacks ; but these instances are rare, 
and, with the actual numerical increase of the others, they seem 
to regard the eventual extermination of the white race with a 
resigned despondency. 



AMALGAMATION OF KACES. 197 

After the independence, the pure whites discovered a grow- 
ing jealousy among the blacks and mixed races of their superior 
intelligence. These last, however, were sufficiently well pleased 
with the overthrow of the Spanish rule and the establishment 
of Republicanism, with which they anticipated an immediate in- 
flux of wealth and ease, and a change for the better not unlike 
that looked forward to by the French Revolutionists of 1848. 
The sudden change gave rise to the Liberal and Conservative 
parties, the former of whom advocated the establishment of a 
grand confederacy of the Central American States, and the lat- 
ter, composed of the remnants of the old Spanish families, the 
maintenance of separate state governments. These were assist- 
ed by the many petty aspirants for power in various sections, 
and the priesthood, who, all-powerful, and holding the arm of 
the Church in terror over the superstitious multitude, determ- 
ined to sustain the few wealthy families in the country as best 
calculated to preserve to the Church its original sway. The 
Liberals have usually been supported by the mass of the peo- 
ple, while the Conservatives, or " Serviles," as they have been 
denominated, have endeavored to earn popular favor by propi- 
tiating the blacks and Indian races, and exciting them against 
the whites. 

These issues, the real cause of the never-ending wars between 
the states, have latterly arrived at such a point that a few years 
must decide them for one or the other party. The series of 
events which in Nicaragua have enlisted American adventurers 
in the Liberal cause is, perhaps, destined to settle the question 
of castes or races more speedily than could otherwise have been 
the case for many years to come. Circumstances have occurred 
in the last two years that have materially altered the position 
of affairs, and families formerly the most instrumental in enlist- 
ing the blacks and Indians in the deadly feuds of the country 
now stand in fear of these elements as destined to overshadow 
and exterminate them, unless the introduction of the more po- 
tent race of North Americans shall counterbalance the increasing 
numbers of the blacks. But few families have escaped the taint 
of amalgamation. The priesthood is every year becoming more 
generally represented by the negro, and these regard with ill- 
concealed jealousy the advance of Americans into any part of 



198 EXPLOBATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

Central America. Every effort to encourage the immigration 
of foreigners bj the Liberals is watched with hostility by the 
colored priests. 

The great men of the country among the Liberals are nearly 
all dead, murdered or worn out in the hopeless struggle. Valle, 
Morazan, Bustillos, Barrundia, and Molina have passed away, 
with the goal of their hopes almost in sight. There now re- 
main Cabanas, Cacho, Mejia, and a few others, whose efforts for 
the establishment of the old Liberal party and the union of the 
Central American States on the Morazan basis have been the 
cause of their expatriation and persecution. 

With the decline of the Liberal party the negro' race has 
^adually gained the ascendency in Honduras. Even a negro 
servant can not be procured, that class refusing to employ them- 
selves where manual labor is required. In one or two instances 
foreigners have brought free colored traveling servants into the 
country, but they quickly fall into th^ indolent habits of the 
blacks around them, become "gentlemen," and quit their em- 
ployers. The stranger with an excellent servant may thus sud- 
denly find himself minus .that useful personage, who from plain 
Bob Long has become Seiior Don Roberto Longorio, upon a par 
with many of the dusky cahalleros around him, and superior to 
nearly all of them in intelligence, besides being traveled and a 
foreigner. You more than probably soon hear of Don Roberto 
regaling himself in the first houses in town. There are, how- 
ever, a number of negro families of great respectability, mem- 
bers of which have occupied seats in the Chamber of Deputies. 
It was one of these who, when the Inter-oceanic Rail-road Bill 
was passing the Senate, objected to the whole project on the 
ground that the entrance of Americans into the country would 
be the signal for the downfall of the colored race. 

As regards health and robustness of person, the native of 
Eastern Honduras, though generally fleshy and well formed, is 
not constitutionally as well able to withstand any deleterious 
effect of the climate as under the same circumstances an Amer- 
ican would be. This results mainly from the fruit and slops 
diet of the poorer classes, few being able to buy meat excepting 
in the great cattle districts of Olancho, where beef is the princi- 
pal food. Yet they make the most patient and enduring sol- 



COURIERS. 199 

diers in the world, traveling, as in the times of Morazan, twen- 
ty leagues a day through the mountains, and subsisting on boil- 
ed plantains. The couriers of the country troU shod with leath- 
ern sandals, twenty leagues a day in all weathers. I often en- 
countered these men in the lonely passes of the sierras, with a 
small packet of letters strapped to the back, jogging swiftly 
along at a gait between a fast walk and a run. They are al- 
ways robust and well developed from constant exercise. 

The system of couriers dates back to the times of the early 
Spaniards. A courier, whether private or government, passes 
through the country with perfect immunity from impressment 
or other impediment. Their calling is almost sacred, and who- 
ever interferes with them is regarded as an oifender against the 
public weal. They are universally honest. No record exists 
of a courier having robbed his employer, or surrendered the let- 
ters intrusted to his charge unless waylaid and intercepted by 
an enemy's force. At such times they have dexterous methods, 
known only to themselves, of concealing dispatches or docu- 
ments. I have known a courier to start from Tegucigalpa with 
letters for Cojutepeque in San Salvador, perform his commis- 
sion, and return with an answer in five days. They are the 
only mail facilities in all Central America. But the greater 
part of the population of Honduras are an indolent, listless 
class, setting no value upon time, taking little exercise except 
on horseback, and consequently soft and feeble in constitution. 

With all the stillness of life in an interior town of Honduras, 
there is much to amuse the stranger. At table, my chair being- 
placed near the grated window, on a level with the street, I 
would turn at hearing an earnest conversation and low breath- 
ing near me. The window would be blocked up with eager lit- 
tle brown, red, and black faces, gazing intently at " eZ estran- 
gero,^'' and commenting on my various motions. Sometimes I 
laughed outright, when the little imps would join in with a yell 
of delight, thrusting their noses through the gratings like mon- 
keys. But these scenes became stale and uninteresting after a 
few weeks. The waving green and balmy breezes of the coun- 
try soon satiate the appetite of an American. The eternal 
quiet, the empty streets, innocent, since the days of Alvarado, 
of the noise of a cart wheel, the grass growing along the paved 



200 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

gutters, the high adobe walls and still gardens beyond, the lazy 
tolling of the church bells for mass, the slouch of the pedestri- 
ans, the listless gaze of the shop-keeper, seated idly on his count- 
er, as you pass, and the total want of excitement, must, ere long, 
weary the man whose breath has been half taken away in the 
rush of events in California or the busy tramp of Broadway. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Traveling Preparations. — Mounted Caballeros. — The Bridge. — Scenes on the 
River. — Public Manners. — Gambling. — Begging. — Tailoring. — Cabanas on 
Horseback. — A Visit to the Cuartel. — Academia Literaria de Tegucigalpa. — 
An Examination. — A Ball in High Life. — Baptism. — Visit to the Mint. — A 
Honduras Guerrilla. — Fishing in the Rio Grande. — Meeting an American. — 
House Architecture. — Furniture. — Women of Honduras. — Passing Compli- 
ments. — Public Amusements. — Cock-fighting. 

The preparation for a journey in Honduras is attended with 
all the formalities of the olden time. The affair is talked over 
for a week, and the uninitiated, who, after hearing of the intend- 
ed departure to-morrow, sees the supposed traveler still loiter- 
ing about the streets, or swinging contentedly in his hammock 
a week afterward, at last learns that to propose and to act are 
entirely different matters in Central America. A person intend- 
ing to leave for a distant part of the country will often delay his • 
departure weeks for some trivial matter, such as a dia de fiesta^ 
or the company of a friend on the road. 

A number of Salvadorenos had arranged to start for San Mi- 
guel on a certain day, and, being desirous of sending letters there, 
I hastened to write and seal them in time for the bustling party, 
whose movements indicated an early departure on the following 
morning. I delivered my package, and exchanged formal adios 
with all, but on the ensuing day found them chatting uncon- 
cernedly in the different tiendas. Four weeks afterward they 
started in good earnest, the interim having been occupied in 
talking over the probable condition of the road, the last revolu- 
tion, and the weather. 

Early one morning, as I was returning from a refreshing swim 
in the river, I observed an unusual commotion in the Calls de 
Goncepcion^ and on approaching found my friends ready mount- 



PEEPAEATIONS FOR TRAVELING. 201 

ed, and, at last, ready for their journey. At the door of a tienda 

stood the gray-headed Don P , gazing with stupid pleasure 

upon the gallant equipage. A group of loiterers, attracted by 
the tramping of mules' hoofs on the pavement, lounged in every 
attitude around the scene of preparations. A dozen lightly-clad 
ladies, with heads enveloped in tnantillas, peered anxiously from 
the surrounding windows, exclianging silent good-lby's with de- 
parting friends or lovers. The narrow sidewalks were filled 
with acquaintances, nearly all pulling silently at their cigarros, 
and forming a remarkable contrast to a similar scene among 
Frenchmen, where the din would have been deafening. Here 
all was sedate and impassive. There were eight caballeros, 
each mounted on a costly andadora worth at least $150. The 
trappings were silver-mounted, and some of the bridles and 
head-stalls adorned with plates of virgin silver hammered flat, 
and fastened with untanned leathern thongs. Each, as he 
mounted, which was done at a single step and with the utmost 
grace, curvetted about the street a while, to show the mettle of 
his animal ; then, drawing his serape closely about his form, 
but with one hand protruding near the breast to allow the free 
use of the lighted cigarro, turned with a slight inclination and 
bow toward the ladies, and joined the group of horsemen near by. 

No people ride better than the Hondurenos ; they force a 
mule into an agreeable and even graceful gait, when a novice 
would scarcely be able to make the beast carry him without ex- 
citing general laughter. Each horseman had his traveling serv- 
ant, who, mounted on a stout macho, followed like Sancho Panza 
after his lord. Nearly an hour was spent in exchanging sal- 
utations and huen viaje, when, at the word of a bright, intelli- 
gent little fellow, who appeared to be the leader, they moved 
slowly out of the town, each endeavoring to exhibit some pecul- 
iar trait of horsemanship, in which the glittering sabre or silver- 
mounted pistol-holsters were but partially concealed in the folds 
of the serape. To dance and ride well is part of the Central 
American education ; not to be excellent in both is the excep- 
tion to the rule. 

The view from the bridge of Tegucigalpa, spanning the B,io 
Grande, is an interesting one to the stranger. Here one may 
see a deal of life in Honduras. Most of the fruit and market- 



202 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

ing from the surrounding mountains and the low plains beyond 
Comayaguela is brought into the city over this bridge. The 
work is a series of ten arches, surmounted by a causeway four 
varas in width and a hundred in length. It is constructed of 
sandstone, which works easily, but toughens on exposure to the 
air. The balustrade, which is four feet high, is of chiseled stone. 
The whole structure is massive, and decidedly Spanish in archi- 
tecture. It is forty feet above the river, and of sufficient 
strength to admit the passage of a train of cars. 

There is generally a fresh breeze from the mountains up the 
valley. Below, the water is alive with bathers, both in the 
morning and evening, shouting and plunging in the waves, 
some leading in mules to bathe or to drink, or swimming their 
horses into the deeper parts, and diving from the back of the 
animal. Here a crowd of boys tumble about in the rapid cur- 
rent like Sandwich Islanders ; there, a decrepit old fellow, 
more like a baboon in shape than a human being, squatted on a 
rock, deliberately turns the pure element over himself with a 
gourd. For half a mile below the bridge the eye meets with 
groups of bathers of both sexes, dashing about in the foam, 
their joyous shouts blending finely with the roar of the waters. 

The rare appearance of a foreigner in Tegucigalpa makes him 
rather uncomfortably a subject of speculation and remark as he 
passes through the streets. To return the numerous bows and 
'■'■huenos dias, caballero^'' is, to an American, annoying, and at 
the same time amusing. Manners which would elsewhere be 
styled impertinences are here the simple customs of the place, 
and should be excused as such. They have a way of stopping- 
near you when you are conversing with an acquaintance, listen- 
ing with earnest innocence to your remarks. On a few occa- 
sions, when I attempted to stare the intruders out of counte- 
nance, and summoned all my hauteur for the occasion, I found 
them rather flattered by the notice, and perhaps smiling with in- 
ward satisfaction. "It is in the grain," thought I, and thence- 
forward did not attempt to deprive the street loungers of their 
time-honored prerogative. Secluded from the world, and rarel}' 
hearing news from abroad, any bit of information is considered 
by them fair game and public property. 

The people, barring the dignified and over-courteous members 



GAMBLING AND BEGGING. 203 

of the old and wealthy families, show a strange mixture of polite- 
ness, simplicity, shrewdness, and effrontery, and, above all, an 
indescribable passive indifference of face, which puzzles the for- 
eigner, until, by long use, he becomes accustomed to it : stopping 
to peep into your window to scrutinize your toilet, and, encoun- 
tering your eye as you turn round, making a bow worthy of Ches- 
terfield ; putting their houses and all in them at your " disposi- 
cio7i," and ready to drive a Jew's bargain with you the next 
day, and so on to the end of the chapter. Like all Spanish or 
mongrel-Spanish people, they are great gamblers, and, while 
many have been ruined by this vice, few escape from its influ- 
ence. This is bequeathed them by their ancestors ; and, in re- 
garding the idle habits of a large portion of the middle classes, 
we should be less disposed to censure from the fact that, the fre- 
quent revolutions preventing or destroying all attempts at ag- 
ricultural improvement, and no public amusements presenting 
themselves, it is quite natural to fall into gaming as one of the 
few pastimes of the country. I often had seedy-looking gentle- 
men pointed out to me as victims to this fascination — men who, 
in former times, had ranked among the wealthiest in the vicini- 
ty. It is due to Honduras to say that the gambling done there 
is not a tithe of that of any of the other Central American states. 

In one of the principal streets is a billiard saloon, very neatly 
furnished, but I saw no instance of skill or science displayed 
there. 

Beggars are common. The stranger is their chief point of at- 
tack. "^<9r el amor de Dios," uttered in a lachrymose tone, 
comes to your ear when you least expect it. These are licensed 
to pursue their calling on Saturday, though they do not confine 
their solicitations to that day. On " begging-day" you are con- 
stantly besieged by the halt, maimed, and blind ; and on one oc- 
casi(Mi I was surprised by the entrance of two soldiers leading a 
manacled prisoner, who had been allowed this method of im- 
proving his condition. His guard probably divided with him 
the day's earnings. 

Another method is for an old woman to enter your house and 
seat herself in the corner, after quietly placing upon the table a 
bundle of paper cigars. If you are charitably disposed, you ap- 
propriate the cigars, and pay the silent petitioner whatever you 



204 EXPLORATIONS EST HONDURAS. 

choose ; if not, having gazed five or ten minutes into vacancy 
without uttering a word, your visitor takes up her goods and de- 
parts. Such are the resorts of females reduced by misfortune 
to penury. 

Another is equally ingenious, but prettier. While seated un- 
der the shade of the trees lining the jpaseo in Comayaguela, and 
conversing with some friends, an almost naked child ran to me 
from a neighboring hut with a bunch of flowers. Pleased with 
the gift, I thanked the little one, but, having no reales about me, 
could not reward her, and so thought no more of it. On the 

following day, walking over the bridge with Senor L , a 

fawning fellow approached and held out his hand, at the same 
time bowing repeatedly and mumbling some compliments. He 

was so importunate that L somewhat roughly ordered him 

away. 

The man stepped aside, and remarked, as he walked reluc- 
tantly off, that he was the father of the child who had present- 
ed the flowers the day before ! 

To illustrate the little value set upon time in Honduras: 
Some days after my arrival, finding it necessary to have some 
thin clothing made, I sent for a tailor. A fat, smiling, over-po- 
lite personage entered, hat in hand, and took my measure, prom- 
ising the articles on the next day. He was more than my match 
in politeness, and backed, bowing and smiling, out of the house. 
For a week I encountered him every day in the street, and once 
during that time he came to Senor Losano's and played us a 
number of brisk tunes on the guitar. Ten days passed away, 
and there was always some excuse for the non-appearance of 
the clothes. As one has first to buy the cloth before the tailor 
takes it in hand, I began to feel uneasy as to the original invest- 
ment, and ventured to consult Don Jose Maria. " Oh, that is 
nothing," said he ; "I have often waited a month for a coat ; we 
never hurry in Tegucigalpa : even the President must wait the 
pleasure of the shoemaker and tailor." On the fifteenth day, 
and when I had begun to despair, I sent my boy to the house 
of Senor Sastre, who promised them faithfully for the morrow, 
and by again sending for them a week afterward I secured my 
new clothes. These were the last I had made in the country, 
for more reasons than one. 



VISIT TO THE CUARTEL. 205 

Upon one occasion I Avas awakened early hj a message from 
the government house, with an invitation to join a number of 
gentlemen, among whom was the President, in a jpasao d ca- 
ballo. We returned after an hour's ride throue-h some of the 

o 
most interesting of the environs. During this jaunt I had an 

opportunity of observing the graceful horsemanship of Cabanas. 
He sits his horse firmly and easily, and there is about the ven- 
erable soldier an air of calm dignity, which, in a less secluded 
theatre of action, would attract instant notice. We entered the 
cuartel or barracks, where the governor of the place is quar- 
tered. The lounging sentinel assumed an upright position, and 
presented arms as we passed. At the entrance were several 
rows of brightly-burnished muskets, of English make ; such 
were, indeed, nearly all the arms I saw in public use in Central 
America. All had flint locks and bayonets. 

The men were mostly stout fellows, dressed in a simple uni- 
form of white drilling, with red stripes on the legs of the pan- 
taloons. All were barefooted. Some were sleeping on the 
rough wooden benches of the arena, others were gambling, 
drinking, or buying a sort of confectionery of sugar and cocoa- 
nut from an old woman who carried it about in a basket. They 
arose and sprang to present arms as the old general entered. 
In an inner room we saw about forty muskets, mostly out of re- 
pair, a number of boxes of bullets, an old field-piece, with a 
three-inch calibre, and mounted on a carriage with wheels like 
those of a heavy dray. We were shown, with great pride, a 
howitzer, one of six sold to the government by the Eail-road 
Company, and a few rifles. None of these weapons had yet 
been used in the battles of the country, there being but one man 
in the army who understood the use of artillery, and he had 
hitherto been reluctant to handle the howitzers, owing to their 
great bore, and the consequent danger of bursting ! On re- 
turning to the house. Cabanas show^ed me a Sharp's rifle, pre- 
sented to him by Mr. Edwards. 

Among other invitations which I received was one to attend 
the examination of a student, a candidate for Bachelorship in 
La Academia Liter aria de Tegucigalpa, an institution organ- 
ized some years since under the auspices of Cabanas, There 
was also to be a ball in the evening, in honor of the graduate, 



206 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

at the house of his father, one of the wealthiest citizens of the 
place, and residing in the Plaza de Paroquia. The name of 
the young aspirant was Juan Verancio Lardizabal. 

At five o'clock, in company with a few friends, in full dress 
for the occasion, I entered the University, situated in the Plaza 
de Santo Domingo, where were already assembled numbers of 
the friends of the family, who seemed to take a lively interest 
in the success of the candidate. The throng, which was of all 
colors, from white through the intermediate shades to black, 
having deposited their hats without, all entered the examination- 
room — a hall about 50 by 40, filled with desks, and adorned 
with historical pictures. At the upper end was erected a plat- 
form, on which were chairs and tables, the last covered with 
red cloth, books, and writing materials. A silken or damask 
canopy was erected, under which were seated President Caba- 
nas, Cacho, Minister of Finance, and the Padres Matute and 
Reyes, the most noted literary dignitaries of the country. 
These were the umpires in the examination, which was actually 
conducted by several Bachelors of the University, whose duty 
seemed to be the puzzling of the candidate with abstruse ques- 
tions in metaphysics, philosophy, and religion. In a sort of 
pulpit near by was seated Don Maximo Soto, a young lawyer 
of great promise, supposed to be the " champion" of the candi- 
date, and having the privilege of answering for him the more 
difiicult questions. The audience occupied the sides and aisles 
of the room, and the pupils of the institution, numbering some 
thirty, the body. Behind the President's chair was a coarse 
painting representing an aspiring student rushing up the steps 
of the Temple of Learning and Fame, in which stood Minerva 
holding toward him a package of books ! The background was 
somewhat indistinct, among clouds of glory and rays of light 
striking from them upon the head of the goddess. It was the 
work of a pupil of the institution. 

The examination lasted nearly an hour, being conducted in 
turn by the graduates. When the Padre Reyes rang his bell 
it signified his satisfaction, and that the next graduate could 
commence. No questions were asked in the usual branches of 
a common education. If the student was properly "up" in his 
religious notions, he was not subjected to many puzzling cate- 



THE ACADEMIA LITERARIA. 207 

gories. At this academy many of the future padres of Hondu- 
ras will receive their education. At the end of each series of 
questions the listeners applauded, and finally, tickets having 
been distributed among the examiners, they deposited them in 
a box, and, the returns being counted, the Padre Keyes declared 
the young man a graduate of the University, amid loud "vivas" 
and clapping of hands. 

This academy (occupying a portion of the old convent of San 
Francisco, built in 1574) was established in 1847. It is sus- 
tained by the levying of a special tax and by private contribu- 
tion. It is the first, and, with the exception of a recently-estab- 
lished one in Comayagua, the only one in the republic. The 
students are divided into six classes. It is under the direction 
of the Church, which monopolizes the guidance of educational 
matters. JSTearly all the scholars are candidates for the clergy. 

The examination over, the company formed into procession 
and walked to the Plaza, where, at the door of Seiior Lardiza- 
bal, we found that gentleman awaiting our arrival. It is the 
custom on such occasions for the entertainer to stand thus, wel- 
coming his guests one by one as they arrive. I availed myself 
of my note of introduction, with the view of ascertaining to what 
extent the inhabitants of this out-of-the-way little mountain 
city had carried the arts of social parties. I had understood 
that this was to be an unusually exclusive afiair, and a type of 
elegant manners in Tegucigalpa. Entering a spacious corridor, 
we were ushered into the sola of the Lardizabals, brilliantly 
lighted. The room was paved, as usual, with square tiles, and 
the ceiling and walls handsomely painted, like those of the better 
houses in Havana. Wreaths of lace and colored fringed paper, 
like those seen in the confectioners' shops in New York during 
the summer months, hung around the room, showing the handi- 
work of the young ladies of the house, who evidently prided 
themselves on their taste in these matters. On the left side, as 
we entered, were sitting some two dozen ladies of the aristocra- 
cy, most of them handsome, a few beautiful, and all apparently 
graceful. 

They remained seated as the throng of visitors entered, but 
received graciously the salutations of all. T ran the gaunt- 
let with me, and assisted in executing the rather ridiculous 



208 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

formalities demanded by the occasion. In the centre of the 
sala was a table covered with confectionery, wines, chocolate, 
and cool drinks, and from the ceiling was suspended a chan- 
delier, borrowed especially for the occasion from an enterpris- 
ing neighbor, who had ordered it from Truxillo. The cere- 
monies of pi'esentation over, the gentlemen ranged themselves 
opposite the ladies, and henceforth, until the dancing, there was 
a rigid separation of the sexes. Each side maintained a spirit- 
ed conversation, interspersed with loud laughter, the only com- 
munication between the two sides of the room being by ocular 
telegraph : bright eyes and fans were the instruments used. 
Cigars were freely discussed, both cigarros proper and puros, 
of which a tastefully-constructed pyramid was built upon the 
table. The cigarros or cigarettos of paper were the preference 
of the ladies, who held them daintily between the prettiest of 
fingers, and puffed away, gesticulating with the greatest anima- 
tion with these little meteors, and not once was the romance of 
the thing destroyed by an instance of expectoration. 

After half an hour passed in this manner, the master of the 
house, acting as his own waiter in company,, with several mem- 
bers of the family, handed about ready-filled glasses of Cham- 
pagne, this custom being always preferred to the certain annoy- 
ance of employing servants, whose splay feet and dishabille 
would surely destroy all elegance that might attach to the 
party. As is usual on Champagne occasions, the popping of 
corks added to the conversational powers of the party, and the 

room was speedily in a buzz. Seiiora B, z was now called 

on by numerous admirers for a song. An overdressed, paunchy 
gentleman took a guitar, seated himself directly before her, and, 
after a few preliminary twangs, the music commenced. 

The singing was the best I had yet heard in the country, but 
was made up of that drawling tone peculiar to the voices of all 
Central American vocalists. The attempts of Spanish-Ameri- 
cans at the sentimental always verges upon or oversteps the line 
of the melancholy ; the look, tone, all is decidedly sorrowful. 
I never yet heard a lively song in Central America except 
among the country people. Whether this is owing to the de- 
pression consequent upon the sad state of political aftairs I could 
never decide. There lacks cultivation in all the musical at- 



A FASHIONABLE PARTY. 209 

tempts I have lieard, even the best. Taste is not wanting, but 
the style is almost unpleasant to foreigners. The song was 
loudlj applauded, as at a public concert, every body shouting 
aloud and clapping hands. Meantime, the throng of " the un- 
washed" peered unrebuked through the bars of the street win- 
dows, and joined in the applause with audible characteristic com- 
ments, such as " Que hermosa r " Que voz tanjpura r and an 
occasional yell of approbation. This standing at the doors and 
windows is the acknowledged prerogative of the multitude. 

The lady of General Morazan performed a selection from 
Linda on a Goulard & Goulard piano, when, after the applause 
had subsided, the room was cleared for the ball. By this time 
the restraints had begun to disappear before the effects of Gham- 
pagne, and the Padre Ugarte, "a little, round, fat, oily man of 
God," having seated himself at the piano, the whole room was 
quickly engaged in that amusement which to the Spanish race 
is more than second nature. 

If the formalities of conversation had imparted a stiffness to 
the scene until now, certain it is that never a merrier throng 
mingled in the whirl of the dizzy waltz. It is rare to find an 
indifferent waltzer among the ladies of Gentral America. They 
are generally easy and lithe in their motions, sailing througli the 
dance with rather a stately though animated mien, but without 
the slightest approach to a hop. The men danced well, with few 
exceptions. Cotillons followed, and, indeed, all the fashionable 
dances but polkas, which are not in vogue here. 

During the evening I was several times agreeably surprised 
at hearing some of the waltzes of the day brilliantly performed 
by various ladies. The only instructor in Tegucigalpa is a 
German, who is fearfully cherished by his pupils. At midnight, 
the ball growing tedious, and the formalities verging into rather 
affectionate demonstrations, owing to the exciting nature of the 
refreshments upon sundry gay gentlemen, we took leave of our 
worthy entertainer, his lady, and the national dignitaries pres- 
ent. Most of the elite had already taken their departure. A 
band of dusky musicians had been introduced at the latter part 
of the evening, and now, as the night was a starry one, peram- 
bulated the streets until dawn, setting all the dogs of the city 
in an uproar with their brazen instruments. 

O 



210 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

A baptism is one of the important ceremonies of the Church. 
Several occurred while I was at Tegucigalpa, at some of which 
I was present. The padre being prepared a day or two before, 
the church is decorated under his directions, and on the baptis- 
mal day the mother appears surrounded by her friends. As 
they enter the sacred portals the choir commences a chant, ac- 
companied by clarionets, bass viols, violins, and the asthmatic 
organ. A crowd usually gathers about, some to gaze at the 
procession, others to congratulate the mother. After the cere- 
monies, the bells of the church are beaten by the cam2:)aneros 
for the space of five minutes, the priests raise their voices, the 
band of musicians redouble their exertions, and several young- 
sters, who have been impatiently awaiting the signal, fire a 
double string of hombas stretched across the entrance to the 
church. As the flaming train delivers the report, the crowd 
rushes forward, shouting and kicking recklessly among the 
cracking torpedoes. The number of these explosive testimo- 
nials depends upon the wealth and importance of the family of 
the child. The remainder of the day is devoted to feasting. 

The Mint at Tegucigalpa is a fair illustration of the reign of 
terror which, in successive administrations, has blighted the 
prosperity of Honduras. My old friend, Don Jose Ferrari, a 
naturalized Italian, is the director. By his invitation I visited 
the establishment, which is a portion of the cuartel building. 
The machinery is simple and rude, consisting of a perpendicu- 
lar screw, on the lower part of which is affixed a stamp of the 
coin intended to be made. A horizontal bar passes through the 
upper part, forming two levers, or handles, like capstan bars. 
A couple of blacks were alternately setting up and unscrewing 
this bit of mechanism, a copper coin, of the value of a cent, 
dropping out at each heave. The rim of the coin is made by 
an equally simple process. The room was bare, dark, and si- 
lent; the walls shrouded with cobwebs and black with dirt. 
On a table near the coining apparatus were heaped up several 
thousand bright pieces of copper money, in which, as Don Jose 
informed me, was a considerable percentage of silver, the exact 
amount of which he is prohibited from divulging. 

In an adjoining room were the remnants of some valuable 
coining machinery, of English manufacture, made under the di- 



MORAZAN AND THE CURRENCY. 211 

rection of Morazan. Amid the turmoils of the country, the 
mule-train bearing it to Tegucigalpa from Omoa was waylaid 
by the opposite party, and the apparatus thrown upon the road, 
where it lay for months subjected to the weather. Some years 
afterward it was brought to its place of destination, but utterly 
ruined. The material is now piled up in inextricable confu- 
sion ; some of the copper boilers filled with grease, and others 
melted into coin. Seiior F lamented this, but wisely re- 
frained from denouncing any particular persons in these days 
of revolutionary changes. "Ah!" said he, "I well remember 
when this machinery was first landed at Omoa: you might 
have shaved yourself by it, it was so beautifully polished." It 
is now a mass of rusty and broken iron, piled into the dark cor- 
ners, covered with rubbish and cobwebs, and the fit home of 
venomous insects. 

It was the intention of Morazan to have coined all the money 
necessary for the country with this, and then to have bought up 
the copper currency, which at that time had not accumulated in 
such quantities as now. At every step the traveler hears of 
some praiseworthy act of Morazan. With his murder in Costa 
Rica, Central America has been gradually but surely declining, 
soon to become the inheritance of strangers. Part of this ma- 
chinery is yet at Omoa. Seiior Ferrari showed us, with great 
pride, a set of books kept by himself and son, which he stated 
were the first ever used in the establishment. About $10,000 
in copper is annually coined at the Mint of Tegucigalpa. 

While here I was introduced to the famous Colonel Rubi, whose 
guerrilla exploits have made him the terror of the Guatemal- 
tecos. He was dressed in officer's uniform. His air was gen- 
tle, almost sad, but the mouth wore an expression of determina- 
tion and resolute courage not often seen in the soft features of 
the Central American. He was small in stature ; his diminu- 
tive hands and feet a lady might have envied ; and, what is rare 
in this country, he had blue eyes and light hair. There is also 
an indescribable look of cruelty about the thin lips. Having 
failed in a revolution originated by him in Guatemala, he escaped 
to Honduras, and, enlisting under Cabanas, was regarded by the 
old general as his best officer. He was allowed his own way, 
and, with a sort of roving commission on land, generally made 



212 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

sudden descents on the unsuspecting enemj, from which he in- 
variably came off victor. His name is a terror on the borders 
of Gracias. His adventures, which are well authenticated, would 
make an interesting volume. It is said that Rubi has sworn 
the death of Carrera, President of Guatemala, for injuries done 
his family some years since. 

Excellent fish are sometimes brought into the market of Te- 
gucigalpa, taken from the Rio Grande or some of its tributa- 
ries. Among these are a species of brook trout {mojarrai), 
dace, and a fish resembling the perch, called the "guapote." 
About three leagues northeast of the city is an artificial lake 
four hundred yards square, constructed by the Comayaguela In- 
dians for purposes of irrigation. Some fish placed by them in 
this pond so increased in a few years that several citizens of 
Tegucigalpa went there for angling purposes. A superstition 
existed among the Indians that the lake and its denizens were 
under the special protection of their patron saint. Much against 
their will, the fish were caught, and on the ensuing summer the 
country was afilicted with a severe drought. A deputation was 
sent to Tegucigalpa, demanding that double the number of fish 
should be restored, and a hundred candles burned at the ex- 
pense of the city, to appease the wrath of the saint. The mon- 
ey was raised by subscription, and the lake restocked by fish 
brought from the Rio Grande amid the rejoicings of Los Co- 
mayaguelas. The river yields a large variety, and I determined 
on one occasion to try my fortunes. 

In company with Santiago, one of Don Jose Maria's servants, 
I repaired to a noted fishing spot called Jm Piedra Grande, a 
mile below the city. The river here flows between two high 
hills, wooded to their tops,, and, gathering itself up for the leap 
between the ledges of a narrow pass, throws itself noisily down 
in a succession of rapids sparkling in snow-white foam. Some 
yards below this is a deep, silent space of water, bearing on its 
surface the bubbles created by the turmoil above. The depth 
is some thirty feet, and is called by the natives El Pozo, or the 
hole. The operation of fishing here consists merely in baiting 
and throwing the hook into the stream, the angler seated on a 
rock or under the shade of some waving tree. The Waltonian 
art is little known here, or indeed in any part of Central Amer- 



AN AMERICAN VISITOR. 213 

ica. Until recently, the inhabitants of Virgin Bay, Granada, 
and Amapala have almost deprived themselves of the luxury of 
fresh fish rather than be at the trouble of taking them. 

A few minutes' Avalk carried us beyond the barrios of the 
city, and, arriving at £^l J^ozo, we scrambled out upon a ledge 
of rocks and let down our lines, but from some cause our efforts 
were not crowned with success. Santiago said they bit better 
on feast-days, a stretch of religious imagination I did not at- 
tempt to combat. After an hour's trial, in which the bait was 
feloniously abstracted from our hooks some twenty times, there- 
by heightening the excitement, we concluded that the saints had 
interdicted the catching of fish on Sunday, and, reeling up our 
lines, we followed the stream up to where a miracle is said to 
have been performed. Here the Virgin is stated to have depos- 
ited the image of a saint, to whom it was proposed to erect a 
church. 

The scenery was of that kind constantly occurring to delight 
and charm the stranger. A clean sandy beach on each side, 
the water pure and clear, the banks lined with the amate, gua- 
pinole, guajiniquile, and many other wide-spreading trees, a 
light breeze stealing among the sunlit foliage, a wall of tropical 
green bounding the view on every side, in which "many a 
plumy thing sitting within the stillness" are the only witnesses 
of your wanderings ; then the sparkle of the rapids above, just 
visible through the leaves ; the solemn clang of the church 
bells, wafted faintly down the ravine from the city, and carrying 
the imagination to the New England village meeting-house, and 
the well-remembered peal of its old belfry tenant. Honduras 
abounds in such quiet resorts for the angler. 

I was one day seated in my hammock, conning over a late 
Gaceta de Guatemala, when a loud laugh, entirely the reverse 
of the subdued Central American snicker, accompanied by a few 
oaths in indisputable English, showed that I was not the only 
American in Tegucigalpa. I had hardly time to step to the door 
before a hearty, robust gentleman met me with a sudden grasp 
of the hand, and introduced himself as Dr. W . " Heav- 
ens !" said I, "another doctor! God help the sick!" He 
had just arrived from Comayagua and Omoa, and was now en 
route for Nicaragua. We were friends at once, and began com- 



214 EXPLORATIONS m HONDURAS. 

paring notes in our own language, much to the amusement of 
Don Jose Maria, who turned from one to the other as we chat- 
ted, gravely nodding assent to our remarks, of which he did not 
understand a word, and joining sympathetically in our laughter. 

The doctor had been some months in the country, and, on 
learning of my intended visit to Olancho, promised to make the 
journey with me if I would await his speedy return from Nic- 
aragua. He had long contemplated a trip to the Guayape 
region, and believed it one of the richest gold countries in the 
world. My companion was one of those roving adventurers 
who, striking away from the noise of cities, love to penetrate 
unknown and distant countries. Thus he had visited most of 
the South American republics with no other view than a desire 
to see the world, paying his way with his good company and 
box of ^^remedios,^^ which, in the hands of a foreigner, is always 
a passport to the good graces of these people. He kept me 
shaking with laughter until night, when he took his departure, 
and I never saw him again. He started before dawn on the 
following morning for Leon. His life among the Dons formed 
a rich series of laughable adventures, in which women, fighting, 
" doctoring," dancing, and the vicissitudes of sierra life were 
freely intermingled. It is difficult to penetrate a country too 
secluded for an American doctor, peddler, or Daguerrean artist, 
or to enter a port, however retired, in which an American trad- 
ing vessel has not cast anchor before. 

Glass windows are almost unknown in Honduras, and the 
warmth of the temperature seems to render their use unneces- 
sary. Their place is somewhat supplied by iron bars across the 
opening. The casement, formed like an embrasure or loop-hole 
of a fort, and beveling inward, is commonly paved with stone 
below, the upper part and sides plastered and whitewashed. 
The tiled floors, when swept clean and washed, impart an air of 
coolness to the dark rooms, and on entering, after a ride through 
the dust and heat, you find yourself inclosed within six sides of 
a square stone box. The lumber, such as joist and boards, 
used in the construction of the house, is sawed out by hand. 
The pine of the mountain regions is straight-grained and works 
easily. Closets, cupboards, and commodious affairs of this kind 
are seldom used in dwelling-houses. An American lady visit- 



CENTRAL AMERICAN WOMEN. 215 

ing Honduras would find tliis among the many deprivations; 
and in the few, but spacious rooms, there is little privacy for 
any body. 

The excess of furniture found in our dwellings would be out 
of place and useless in Central America. The bed-rooms are, 
of course, on the ground floor, and in these the only articles are 
the bedstead, one or oftener two chairs, and sometimes a wood- 
en '■'• guardaropa^'''' Qx clothes-press. But in the houses of the 
wealthier families, and where several ladies are residing, the 
rooms throughout are somewhat more profusely furnished. 
The lack of servants with enough taste or intelligence to keep 
furniture in order, added to the natural indisposition of la se- 
nora herself to the duties of housekeeping, contribute to main- 
tain the primitive method of living. I was credibly informed 
that in Honduras, as well as Nicaragua, the use of the knife and 
fork has not been many years adopted. 

I believe that every traveler in Central America will testify 
to the generous, noble-hearted character of the women. Hos- 
pitable, gentle, and patient, upon them falls a large share of 
the work done in the five states. Some one has remarked that 
it may be said of the Central American women, "She nursed, 
made tortillas, and died." This, of course, does not apply to 
the ladies of the wealthy families. The females of the lower 
orders are, in fact, the slaves of the country. In Tegucigalpa 
the water used for all the purposes of life is brought by them 
from the river, a distance of a hundred feet up a steep bank, 
whence I have often observed their painful progress and heavy 
breathing. Excepting in politics and war, which have ruined 
Central America, they seem to carry the greater part of the 
burdens of life, but, cheerful and happy, they are ever content- 
ed with their station. I can not remember hearing a rough or 
rude word from any woman of the country. Their manner is 
frank and light-hearted, and the tired stranger is readily wel- 
comed to their family board. I always made a point, on my 
arrival at a house, of ingratiating myself with its mistress. 

The passing of formal compliments, a relic of the old Span- 
iard, is gradually decreasing. Every body has some idea of po- 
liteness, not only atnong the higher, but in the lowest walks of 
life. The dirtiest rapscallion, sin sapatos, uses his courtliest 



216 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

language in addressing you, and seems imbued with an inborn 
sense of courtesy. The best-bred gentlemen I have met in any 
country I saw among the educated persons of Honduras. Good- 
breeding, urbanity, and a desire to make one's self agreeable to 
the company is a leading feature. Wrangling and disputing in 
society is almost unknown ; and if an addition to the party oc- 
curs, every person in the room arises to receive him. 

These are not general remarks formed from a few instances, 
but will apply to what is known as good society in Honduras, 
or at least in Tegucigalpa, and renders a reunion of gentlemen 
a scene to be remembered, and even favorably contrasted with 
the turbulent discussions often taking place in what is termed 
polished society in communities who doubtless regard their trop- 
ical neiahbors of Honduras as semi-civilized. 

D 

Public amusements are almost unknown in Honduras. The- 
atres, museums, games, excursions, hunting-parties, are means 
of entertainment as yet only known by hearsay. The fuficiones 
of the Church create an occasional religious enthusiasm, and 
then the jiatio de gallos becomes the centre of attraction. This 
pastime amounts to a passion, and is a source of revenue to the 
government. The privilege of establishing a cockpit during cer- 
tain religious festivals is let out by the authorities to the high- 
est bidder, who having made the requisite preparations, the yard 
is thrown open to the public, and a barefooted soldier being sta- 
tioned as door-keeper, the multitude is admitted for a charge of 
two copper reals a head ; all minors being excluded by law, and 
the master of the cockpit being liable to a fine for every person 
so admitted. 

The games commence at the Pascua (December 25th), and 
usually continue until the latter part of March. The establish- 
ed regulations are posted at the door-way, and a judge appoint- 
ed viva voce to decide in all disputes. As high as $1000 is 
often bet upon the fights, and the people arrive at the greatest 
excitement during these exhibitions. The sport is not consid- 
ered as detracting from the dignity of the highest oificials, and 
the padres in clerical garb may be seen venturing a handful of 
j)esos on one of two feathered combatants, or disputing lustily 
on the merits of diiferent birds with the mdst boisterous of the 
crowd. The custom has descended from the early Spaniards, 



COMMISSIONERS. 217 

and no urchin in our own country ever looked forward to Thanks- 
giving or Christmas more eagerly than do the Tegucigalpans 
count the days to ^Hiempo de gallos,'''' 



CHAPTER XII. 

Tardy Officials. — A Visit to a Hacienda de Cana. — Flour-mill. — Buildings.— 
Distillery. — Sugar-mill. — Honduras Cane. — Fruit. — Cassava. — Yuca. — Mak- 
ing Starch. — Sweet Potato. — Chili Peppers. — Coutrayerba. — Productions of 
the Department. — A Dinner at El Sitio. — El Comojen. — El Diario de Marina. 
— An Evening Scene. — Las Tienderas. — Shops. — Trade. — Fashions. — Dresses. 
— Ladies of Honduras. — Female Beauty. — Equestrianism. — Lack of Educa- 
tion. — Children's Dresses. — Political Matters. — Jose Francisco Barrundia. — 
The Death Penalty. — Security in Traveling. 

Two commissioners were appointed to take into consideration 
my petition to the government. These were the Padre Reyes, 
a leading politician of Honduras, and Seiior Vigil, well known 
as an adherent of the Conservative party. My documents once 
in their hands, I saw nothing more of them for many days. 
Their duties in relation to them would have occupied any but 
Spaniards perhaps two hours. I was all impatience to renew 
my mountain journey toward Jutecalpa. For several days I 
made a point of visiting both of these worthies, keeping con- 
stantly on their track, and never failing to remind them of their 
duties. Sometimes I found them lounging on a shop counter, 
gravely conversing with the tiendero, or, wrapped in cloaks, 
smoking cigarros and gazing at vacancy, silent and imperturb- 
able. Twice I found the reverend father playing monte in a 
small gambling-house, with a greater display of eagerness in 
his countenance than I had thought him capable of. He always 
returned any hint I might give him with a stare of wonder at 
such indecent haste as eminently un-Spanish and out of the or- 
dinary routine of business. Every day convinced me that time, 
so invaluable to Americans, is here considered as an institution 
got up expressly to be passed as easily as possible, and an ar- 
ticle of no value. It is never taken into account in any bargain 
or calculation, and he is considered as displaying a want of dip- 
lomatic dignity who attempts to outstrip the tardy motions 
transmitted from "good old colony times." 



218 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

Finding it useless to " huny up" my commissioners, and- re- 
solving to float with the tide rather than struggle against it, I 
passed some weeks very agreeably visiting the silver mines in 
this department, and riding, at the invitation of proprietors, to 
the haciendas in the vicinity. 

My old friend, Seiior Ferrari, had often pressed me to visit 
his hacienda de cana, known as El Sitio, about two leagues 
from Tegucigalpa, on the road to Cantaranos. Late one even- 
ing he called, and promised to send his favorite macho (a beau- 
tiful animal worth $200) for me on the following morning. At 
daylight I mounted, and rode to the house, where I found the 
old Don ready spurred and awaiting my arrival. After coffee 
we set off toward Santa Lucia. Don Jose took the lead with 
his andadora, and, leaving the town, led the way through a 
mountainojis district, sometimes crossing fertile valleys, and at 
others along the banks of the Rio Chiquito, taking its rise in 
the San Juan mountains six leagues southeast of the city. 
Some old chronicles in Tegucigalpa speak of this stream as '■''El 
Rio de Oro,'''' but I could not learn that any gold had been 
found in its sands to warrant the name. We passed numerous 
thrifty ranchos, devoted mainly to the cultivation of corn and 
vegetables, and sugar-cane was growing in small patches on two 
or three of the largest. An invigorating breeze fanned our faces 
as we passed rapidly up the valley. On the blue mountains 
surrounding us we could discern among the clouds square 
patches of cultivated ground, which vaj companion said were 
wheat-fields. 

We soon opened a green-carpeted little gorge, in which Don 
Jose pointed out the first flour-mill I had seen in the country. 
This is kept in active operation after harvest-time. It is car- 
ried by the waters of the Chiquito, which here tumbles merrily 
along to where it joins the Rio Grande at Tegucigalpa. Cross- 
ing this valley, and winding along the edge of a precipitous hill, 
my companion stopped and bade me listen to a distant screech- 
ing and shouting, which he said proceeded from the muchachos 
on his hacienda, engaged in grinding cane. A moment more, 
and the estate itself appeared to view. The old Don now grew 
doubly loquacious respecting his possessions, and, withal, I could 
not help thinking he was justly proud of them. He is owner 



EL SITIO. 219 

of eighty cahallarias, and the pLantation extended over all the 
arable land in siglit. We drew up at the end of an avenue of 
fruit-trees, and I was introduced to the niayor-domo, the eldest 
son of the proprietor. 

A description of this hacienda will answer for any large and 
well-ordered one in the state. The buildings, which are all of 
adobe, consist of a dwelling-house containing six rooms on the 
ground floor, four smaller ones occupied by the laborers, two 
store-houses, and a distillery. The principal dweUing was neat- 
ly tiled, in good repair, and surrounded by a corridor paved with 
stone. Every thing about the place betokened a thrifty, wealthy 
owner. The distillery contained some English machinery, 
brought on mule-back over the mountains from Fonseca Bay. 
Li the sugar-house adjoining was a mill made in the country. 
It consisted of a series of mahogany rollers revolving reversely, 
between which, the ends of the cane being inserted, the bunches 
were drawn through and the juice pressed out. The boilers 
were of copper. The method of sugar-making practiced here 
does not materially differ from that of Cuba, save that fewer 
modern improvements have been introduced. The majority of 
manufactories, however, are scarcely better than the rude inven- 
tions of the early settlers. 

Sugar-cane grows without replanting twenty consecutive 
years in Honduras. It is of an excellent quality, attains a re- 
markable height, and is capable of being manufactured into the 
best sugar known. No refining process has ever yet been used 
in the state. The hacienda was completely surrounded with 
luxuriant trees, many of them bearing fruits of which to taste 
of each would induce satiety. An orange-grove near the house 
was literally loaded with the yellow burden, and the ground be- 
neath covered with over-ripe ones. Here were also a number 
of peach-trees, set out by the proprietor as an experiment. 
Pme-aj)ples, sweet limes, cocoanuts, plantains, bananas. Jigs, 
melons, and apricots flourish on this, as well as other haciendas 
in the sierra. 

A field of casava was growing near the house, and forming, 
with its smooth, oblong leaves, bristling stalk, and bright-hued 
flowers, a beautiful ornament in a small landscape. It reaches a 
height of tlu-ee feet in the uplands, but nearly six in the low coun- 



220 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

try of San Salvador and Nicaragua. Some plants I afterward 
saw growing in the valley of Talanga, in Eastern Honduras, 
were above five feet liigli. There are several wild plants closely 
resembling the casava, some of whose leaves are gathered and 
dried for their medicinal properties. These are like those of the 
papaya ; the seeds, in times of scarcity, are gathered to feed 
poultry ; but the casava proper is the root, which is not unlike 
a long, thin yam, and, when boiled, is white, tasteless, and nearly 
like the potato. It is taken from the ground at all seasons. 
The starch of the country is obtained exclusively from the ca- 
sava and yuca, a species of the same. The yuca. however, is a 
larger plant, and has often a stout stalk reaching eight or ten 
feet from the ground. It is in blossom and yields fruit through- 
out the year. The root is dried, and tied into bundles of two 
or three pounds, which are sold in all the market-places at a rae- 
dio each. Properly dried, it may be preserved for years. From 
this plant tapioca is made. 

The starch is obtained by scraping the peeled casava into 
delicate strings, which are squeezed by hand in a stout cloth. 
A glutinous substance oozes out, which, mixed with water and 
boiled to a proper consistency, becomes a clear, pearly starch, 
equal to any manufactured article I have ever seen. That pro- 
duced from the^ yuca is considered the best. In the mountains, 
where the modern improvements have not found their way, the 
root is simply pounded, jammed, and boiled, the starch remain- 
ing in the bottom of the vessel. In the larger towns, shirts are 
returned from the hands of the lavadoras as neatly starched and 
ironed as the most fastidious critic could desire ; but the meth- 
od of washing, which consists of beating the saturated clothes 
upon rocks, leaves the owner of the articles but little hope of 
ever again seeing his garments except in tatters, and bereft of 
buttons. The yuca plant bears red and white flowers. 

Here I also observed the sweet potato, an esculent common 
in all parts of Central America. It, however, flourishes best in 
Nicaragua. April is the season for planting, but, where the 
ground can be irrigated, it may be raised the year round. The 
mode of culture does not differ from that of the Southern United 
States. The yield is often very large ; the potato of an oval 
shape, and of a whitish appearance. The vines grow luxuri- 



NATURAL PRODUCTIONS. 221 

antly. In the markets of the principal towns sweet jootatoes 
are worth about two cents a pound ; but in most of the small 
villages, especially in the mountains, are not to be obtained at 
any price. The scarcity of this, as well as of many other pro- 
ductions of the country, was owing to the ravages of the grass- 
hoppers, which, passing in incomputable millions over the coun- 
try during my visit, had destroyed many of the finest fields. 

Chili peppers were also flourishing in dozens of localities 
about El Sitio. They grow equally well in a wild state. The 
Ckili Colorado, or oblong pod of the red pepper, is known the 
world over to Spaniards. It is eaten by the swarthy mount- 
aineer of Central America with tortillas, as cheese is in the 
North. I could never see a brawny fellow munching red pep- 
pers and tortillas without having my eyes filled with involun- 
tary tears. None but a Spanish throat could ever acquire the 
knack of bolting them. This, with the garlic, is an ingredient 
in nearly every dish. The round or sweet pepper is also found 
growing wild in the country, but is not so generally liked as 
the first. A tough, bitter root, known there as the Contrayerha, 
grows in the neighborhood of El Sitio. Some curious medici- 
nal qualities are attributed to it, for which purpose it is sold in 
the Plaza de Ifercado of Tegucigalpa to women. The speci- 
mens of this plant now in New York are pronounced by bota- 
nists the Do7'stenia of Linna3us. 

In the Department of Tegucigalpa are cultivated nearly all of 
the tropical products, and in the highest land some of those of 
the temperate. Among these may be mentioned tobacco of ex- 
cellent quality, rice, sugar, cacao, a little indigo, all the tropical 
fruits, corn, potatoes, and coffee. Juarros mentions Tegucigal- 
pa, or Eastern Honduras, as the richest section of Central Amer- 
ica for gold and silver. 

There are found among the wild productions, in small quan- 
tities, vanilla, gum arable, fustic, mastic, ipecacuanha, dragon's 
blood, ginger, tamarinds, and the India-rubber tree. As these 
are also common to the eastern coast of Honduras, in the great 
department of Olancho, which should be considered as a distinct 
subdivision of Central America, I shall refer to them and other 
natural products in my description of that country. Olancho 
proper is equal in size to the Republic of San Salvador, and, 



222 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

being the object of my journey, I paid closer attention to its ag- 
ricultural and mineral resources than to those of any other por- 
tion of the state through which I passed. 

Senor Ferrari had visited Olancho some twelve years since, 
where he has an old relative living. He promised me a number 
of letters of introduction, and laughed at the warnings of Ca- 
banas. " They are the richest and most hospitable people in 
the country," said the old man, " and with a letter in your hand 
from me you need not fear to pass current among them ; only 
do not mix too freely among the Indians." After a long ram- 
ble among the neighboring hills, during which my entertaining 
host loaded me with information about the country, we return- 
ed to the house, where I found a sumptuous dinner prepared, 
and graced with the fair presence of the Don's four daughters, 
who had followed us out from the city for that purpose. The 
blending of the flashing Spanish beauty with that of the volup- 
tuous Italian, all heightened by the flush of exercise, and set off 
by decidedly neat gray riding-habits, made the company of my 
hospitable friends an agreeable surprise. 

After dinner we had cofifee, cigars, guitars, and an animated 
conversation on female fashions in North America. The curios- 
ity, if not jealousy, of my fair companions had recently been 
aroused by the arrival from New York of their cousins, the 
Senoritas Dardano, who had passed through Tegucigalpa some 
two months since. The flutter caused by their advent, and the 
millinery art, now for the first time realized by these secluded 
belles, had not yet subsided. I doubt not that my descriptions 
of splendid Broadway have caused more than one of Tegucigal- 
pa's beauties to sigh for the establishment of rail-roads and 
steamboats between Honduras and '■'■ el Norte.'''' 

Nearly every building in Honduras is subject to the destruc- 
tive agency of a little boring insect called the Comojen. They 
enter at the lower part of house timbers, and eat a perfectly 
round hole to the top, whence they return by a parallel route, 
continuing their operation until every beam, rafter, and joist in 
the building is honeycombed. Cedar is particularly liable to 
these attacks. At El Sitio, though the wood, to all outward 
appearance, was sound, Don Jose showed me its true condition 
by taking a pole and striking vigorously upon the rafters. 



DECAYING OF TIMBER. 223 

Tliej crushed in like the shell of a mummy, and flew into little 
clouds of dust, from which the ladies made a rapid retreat out 
of doors. There are hut few kinds of pine wood in the country 
which are not subject to the attacks of the comojen, and it is a 
sing'ular coincidence that any but these two woods will become 
worm-eaten and decay in water within twelve months. An in- 
stance was related to me by an English gentleman, formerly en- 
gaged in mining in Yuscaran, near the boundary of Nicaragua. 
A large pine-tree was cut for a shaft for a crushing mill, and 
carried a distance of two miles to the works. Before the tree 
was felled, a number of the old natives warned them against cut- 
ting that class of pine, predicting its speedy decay. The for- 
eigners, considering this a silly superstition, gave it no attention, 
and after eight months' use the shaft, which was costly and ap- 
parently sound, became perforated with small round holes, and 
"finally unfit for use. Similar " superstitions" exist as to cut- 
ting trees during the full of the moon. No one in Honduras 
cuts a tree for building purposes except at that time and the 
week following. Insects attack timber cut before the full moon, 
while it is known by experience they will not touch that felled 
a week after. These facts may be useful to future settlers in 
Honduras. 

In an old clothes-press in the sala I found a file of jEJI Dia~ 
Ho de Marina of Havana. This is the only foreign newspa- 
per regularly reaching the interior of the state. As its rabid 
and anti- American leaders have been repeatedly transcribed and 
spread before the people since the Lopez expedition, any respect 
that may yet remain in certain sections of Honduras for the 
United States is not owing to '"'■El Diario de Marina.^'' 

After swinging in lazy hammocks, smoking corn-husk cigars, 
drinking vino de coyol and tiste., and gathering all the fruit it 
was reasonable to suppose could be eaten in a week, we ordered 
our mules, and bade adieu to El Sitio. We rode slowly and 
easily toward the old city, the ladies chatting gayly on the 
events of the day, and laughing with the ease of youthful and 
unburdened hearts. Beautiful El Sitio ! the quiet shades of its 
lawn of guanacastes and ceibas, the fragrance of its orange and 
citron groves, the sparkle of its brawling brook, tumbling 
among the leafy thickets, its beautiful birds, and the dreamy 



224 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

silence in which nature seems here enthroned, will long haunt 
my memory. 

We reached the summit of the hills overlooking the city just 
in time to catch the last rays of sunset, bathing the turrets of 
La Paroquia in purple light, and illumining the houses in the 
valley beneath. The faint tones of the old Spanish bells float- 
ed toward us in the evening breeze. They have summoned the 
devout to prayers since the seventeenth century, when the fol- 
lowers of Alvarado lifted their plumed hats and listened to the 
lofty Te Deum. Gradually the twilight deepened over the 
landscape ; the crimson clouds, casting their reflected hues over 
the mountains, grew dim before the gray mantle of evening ; 
and, urging forward our animals, we were soon ambling through 
the paved streets of the city, and exchanging " buenas nochei'' 
with the groups at the doorways. 

The stores in the large towns of Honduras are stocked with 
nearly the same class of goods. A description of one, with a 
few alterations regarding size and the disposition of articles, 
would answer for the whole. Rows of shelves surround the 
shop, in the centre of which, behind the counter, the master, or 
oftener the mistress, of the establishment sits enthroned ; if the 
latter, her head bent down over her sewing, and so seated as to 
command a view of her little collection of goods, and glance 
into the inner apartments at the same time. It should be re- 
membered that there are few of the principal housekeepers in 
the large towns of the republic who do not help to "make two 
ends meet" by selling from a tienda, in the most conspicuous 
part of the house, the various domestic articles demanded by the 
little world around them. Very few ladies consider themselves 
too genteel to act as tienderas, and, indeed, since the decline of 
the commerce of the country, many respectable families have 
been reduced to this means to preserve their station in society, 
and even to live. Some of the tiendas, presided over by the 
beauties of the city, are the resort of the gallants of Tegucigal- 
pa, who may be seen paying their respects to the divinity with- 
in, and showing more substantial evidences of their appreciation 
by the purchase of trifles, more, perhaps, to see how my lady 
will roll up a ribbon with her taper fingers than for the intrinsic 
value of the article. Far in the interior of this almost unknown 



SHOPS IN TEGUCIGALPA. 225 

country, in a city hitherto neglected by geographers and map- 
makers, the nicely-calculated flirtation sxnd piquant affairs of 
gallantry are conducted with all the gusto and Jinesse to be 
looked for in the daintiest circles of fashionable life in the full 
blaze of J'oict or watering-place. 

The goods displayed for sale are neither costly nor valuable,, 
consisting mostly of wearing apparel, such as cotton cloths, os- 
naburgs, sheeting, drilling, shoes, and the usual array of manu- 
factured articles found in dry-goods stores. It is rare to meet 
with any shops devoted to the sale of one class of articles. 
Nearly all combine the goods of the apothecary, dry-goods deal- 
er, grocer, hatter, shoe dealer, saddler, bookseller, confectioner, 
and stationer, but with extremely limited stocks of each of the 
trades thus represented. Most of these enter the country via 
Amapala, or La Union, San Salvador, in European vessels, the 
English always predominating. Occasionally in the stores 1 
noticed American articles, such as patent leather shoes and 
boots, a few bits of household ware, Lowell manufactured goods, 
soap, candles, pickles, and liquors ; but these were very rare, 
England appearing to rule the trade in cutlery, manufactured 
goods, calicoes, ale, cloths, wooden and tin ware ; the French 
those of vin ordijiaire, Cognac, silks, prints, calico dress pat- 
terns, cheese, mustard, gloves, and cassimeres ; the Italians such 
as olives, sweet oil, sardines, macaroni, vermicelli, green cheese, 
sausages, and some silk goods. Havana and Balize also help 
to supply Honduras, and, indeed, all Central America, with a 
variety of articles. The former place and Guatemala send 
nearly all the books brought into the country. Balize is the 
emporium of trade on the Atlantic border of Central America, 
as La Union and Amapala are on the Pacific. 

The United States, with their extensive commerce and great 
manufacturing interests, appear as yet to have cared but little 
to pry into this market, though a small amount of goods find 
their way into the interior from Truxillo. That port being the 
point from which Yoro and Olancho are supplied, and its trade 
being nearly confined to Boston and New York, the Olancha- 
nos are the principal consumers of American goods. Honduras, 
with her 350,000 inhabitants, is a constantly consuming but 
slightly producing country, and a successful competition might 

P 



226 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

easily Tbe established at any .prominent sea-port on either the At- 
lantic or Pacific coast. A few trading vessels have reached 
Tigre Island from California, freighted with part of the overplus 
of that market, and some excellent speculations are said to have 
been made in this way, but as yet European vessels nearly mo- 
nopolize the trade on both sides the continent. The Costa Rica 
coffee and sugar trade is now being turned from its old chan- 
nels toward California, and it is reasonable to suppose that the 
entire traffic of the Pacific coast of Central America will be es- 
sentially conducted between that country and California. 

Within the last five years, as the Central American States 
have become more widely known, commercial monopolies have 
decreased. A better quality of goods is demanded and con- 
sumed. All classes are dressed better than formerly, and Amer- 
ican fashions are being introduced. Among the women, costlier 
articles of wearing apparel are becoming fashionable. The dress 
of the women of Honduras of the lower classes is of coarse and 
plain material, such as ginghams and calicoes ; but the dress of 
the lady par excellence is a different affair, and those to whom 
I was introduced were often arrayed with a degree of coquet- 
tishness fully up to the mark of a foreigner's imagination of a 
" dark-eyed seiiorita." The year round, pure white dresses, 
or those of a light pink or blue gauzy stuff, are the ruling style. 
Instances of bad taste are rare. The fashions are often brought 
from Havana. 

The figures of the ladies, as I noticed them at dances and on 
promenades, were rather tall, but straight, and all the move- 
ments elegant and modest. There were few exceptions to this 
rule in the parties to which I was invited. Besides the more- 
nas with raven hair, who decidedly prevail as to numbers, you 
sometimes meet a fair complexion, light hair, blue eyes, and 
ruddy cheeks, especially in the highlands. The delicate pale- 
ness usually associated with Spanish tropical beauty is oftener 
encountered ; and such complexions, aided by clear white fore- 
heads, large black or hazel eyes, rather thin lips, and fine teeth, 
are no inconsiderable attractions when joined, as they frequent- 
ly are, to a vivacious, joyous disposition. The " languishing" 
style mostly accompanies the dark complexions, and to a North 
American, used to the sprightliness of his countrywomen, this 



THE FASHIONS. 227 

gradually becomes tiresome. The dreamy beauties ot this de- 
licious clime are admirable subjects for the novelist or painter, 
but one looks in vain for the attractions of the cultivated lady 
of our own favored land. They generally unite the qualities 
of gentleness, good-humor, and sincerity — pleasing traits in all 
countries. 

Pretty hands and arms are too common to be regarded as 
particular marks of elegance. On several occasions, however, I 
noticed that ladies took extra pains to display these little ad- 
vantages. The hair is oftener worn plaited and put up behind 
the head than in any other way. Ringlets are seldom seen. 
At parties or balls the dress is usually white, and very thin. 
Little jewelry is worn. In the street the mantilla is always 
used, and oi\2i\^ parasols have been introduced. Ladies are sel- 
dom seen abroad except at morning and toward sunset, and 
they are rarely accompanied by gentlemen. 

Many are graceful, fearless horsewomen. The side-saddle is 
manufactured in Guatemala, but a few are now being imported 
from England. The fashion of riding on the right side still pre- 
vails. The riding-habit does not differ from those of the United 
States ; sometimes the bottom of the dress is loaded with small 
silver coins fastened through holes in the skirt. A hat (an 
out-and-out masculine one) is worn, with a heavy black veil. 
Gloves fringed around the cuffs with silver, and a small Italian 
riding-whip, complete the attire. Toward the breaking up of 
the rainy season, before the dust of the dry months has dimmed 
the sparkle of the green foliage, is the favorite time for equestri- 
an parties. Then the mountain streams are leaping from crag 
to valley, the roads are good, and the senoritas seldom fail to 
take advantage of these propitious circumstances. 

In the general lack of education the women are taught but 
little, and when the young lady can play the guitar or piano, 
waltz, and appear a la mode in society, she is served up whole 
at the altar as quickly as possible, and her matronly duties com- 
mence. The few exceptions where young ladies have been sent 
to the United States to be educated are rare. Such are looked 
upon by their companions as prodigies of learning. With few 
or none of the advantages offered in more enlightened countries, 
the Central American women never fail to interest the traveler 



228 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

by the peculiar gentleness and dignity of their demeanor, as well 
as their latent talent and susceptibility of cutivation. 

The usual dress of a citizen of the United States will answer 
for that of a gentleman of Honduras. But the remnants of 
fashions long since exploded sometimes appear to excite a smile 
at the attempts of the Beau Brummels of the larger towns — 
styles which, emanating at Paris, and filtering through the 
United States and Havana, eventually find their way into the 
interior of Honduras : English stove-pipe hats, leathern panta- 
loon straps, old-fashioned swallow-tailed coats with high collars, 
and other items, showing what market the old-clothes dealers 
of Europe find for their superannuated goods. The men are far 
behind the women in dress. The old Spanish emblem of dig- 
nity — the ample blue cloak — still retains its hold upon the af- 
fections of the antiquated Dons, and even children are seen en- 
veloped in folds of blue cloth. One of the first things to attract 
the notice of a stranger in any of the larger towns of Honduras 
is |he " little old man or woman" look of the children. Boys 
of five or six years of age strut stiffly along, with a black hat, 
straight collar and cravat, cloak and walking-stick — in fact, with 
the complete habiliments of full-grown men. The precocious 
features of the little fellow detract somewhat from the absurdity 
of the dress. Girls of the same age are seen with luxuriant 
hair, long dresses, and the ornaments common to young ladies. 
One little creature who was frequently in the house of Don 
Jose wore immense ear-rings, a necklace, finger-rings, and had 
her hair braided and tastefully arranged, more like a bride than 
a child. The dress adds greatly to the naturally advanced look 
of the children. All women in Central America grow prema- 
turely old. The same would probably take place with Ameri- 
can women living there. 

For some years after the independence very eloquent speeches 
are said to have been made in the Legislature of Honduras. 
But among the Liberals, it is believed that, the great lights of 
the country having died, there remain none to maintain the for- 
mer oratorical power. Barrundia, the last of the old revolution- 
ary stock, has passed away, and it is affirmed that none remain 
capable of filling his place. 

With the adoption of the present Constitution capital punish- 



THE DEATH PENALTY. 220 

ment was albolished in Honduras. The severest penalty which 
can now be inflicted is five hundred blows for one offense. Ac- 
cording to the severity Avith which this is applied, the punish- 
ment is to be dreaded. The robber Umansor, who recently es- 
caped fi'om the castle at Omoa, and was guilty, it is said, of 
eight murders, had received four hundred blows on two occa- 
sions, but had recovered. Two hundred blows often end the 
sufferings of the culprit when applied with that design. If it is 
the intention of the government that the offender shall die, the 
infliction is administered in such a way that the prisoner has 
ceased to breathe before the punishment is ended. 

The arms of the man are tied around a tree of just sufficient 
circumference to admit of the wrists meeting and being bound 
firmly together on the opposite side. The feet are secured by 
stout cords near the root. The culprit is then stripped to the 
waist. The instrument of punishment consists of heavy, lithe 
rods of some tough tree. These are placed in the hands of the 
executioner, also stripped to the waist, who, standing some dis- 
tance from the prisoner, places himself in such position as to 
throw his full strength into the blows. The signal being given, 
the withe, which is heavy and of the consistency of India-rub- 
ber, descends upon the back of the condemned. The effect is 
scarcely less terrible than that described as following the inflic- 
tion of the Russian knout. Blow after blow is delivered, until 
the sufferer, who at first screams with agony and tugs at the 
thongs which bind him, relapses into silence. His back becomes 
a mass of clotted gore, and life is often extinct before the full 
sentence has been complied with. The whipping is performed 
by two or three executioners, who relieve each other as they 
become exhausted with the labor. 

While on the road from Tegucigalpa, I heard of an instance 
where a servant had robbed his master in the Department of 
Comayagua. He attacked him when sleeping, cut his body to 
pieces with his machete, and, taking his money and several 
mules, escaped in the direction of Omoa. He was pursued by a 
party of soldiers, who, on capturing him, by the directions of the 
officer in command, gave him three hundred blows. He did not 
live to undergo the full sentence. But instances of brutal mur- 
der like this are extremely rare. In no part of the world are 



230 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

property and life more secure than in Honduras, nor are there 
any people on the continent more peaceable or hospitable than 
in these mountain regions. 



CHAPTEE, XIII. 



The great Eruption of Consiguina. — Phenomena in the interior of Honduras. — 
Central American Volcanoes. — Eruption of "San Miguel." — "Minerales de 
Plata." — Preparations for Olancho. — The Guayape Gold Eegion: its Access- 
ibility ; Obscurity. — Fabulous Accounts. — Favorable Results with the Gov- 
ernment. — Ho ! for the Guayape. — Leaving Town. — My Mule-train. — Catch- 
ing Soldiers. — Rio Abajo. — Dr. Don Giiillerma again. — Cofradilla. — The Road 
to Talanga. — A Feast in Talanga. — St. James intoxicated. — Las Cuevas. — 
An Allspice-tree. 

Among the many interesting narrations which I obtained from 
my friend Losano was his account of the famous eruption of the 
great volcano of Consiguina in 1835. Throughout this section 
of the country, though many leagues from the mountain, the si- 
erras trembled to their foundations ; occasional shocks of earth- 
quakes were felt ; the people became suddenly nauseated, while 
the air filled with fine ashes so as to partially obscure the sun, 
and the distant bellowings and explosions of the mountain de- 
noted some terrible eruption transpiring in the great range of 
volcanoes skirting the Pacific coast. Many believed the Judg- 
ment day had come. The shocks, however, were not felt in the 
highlands of Honduras as in other parts of Central America. 
Passing the mountain some months before, I was shown where 
a river once flowed through a fertile country into the Bay of 
Fonseca, but now, and ever since the eruption, bare and deso- 
late, from the vast heaps of ashes thrown from the crater. The 
explosions were heard across the continent, and ashes were sent 
to a distance of several hundred miles ! 

Senor Losano states that for three days the air was filled 
with an impalpable dust, entering all the cracks and chinks of 
the houses, and producing a suffocating sensation. At three 
o'clock P.M. on the 20th, 21st, and 22d of January, 1835, 
darkness enveloped the whole of interior Honduras. Lights 
placed upon tables at each end of a room could barely be dis- 
cerned by a person standing midway between them. Meals 



GREAT ERUPTION OF CONSIGUINA. 231 

were taken by candle-light. The birds, affrighted by the fear- 
ful darkness, flew in terror to the towns, dashing themselves 
against the houses and falling dead at the doors. In the vil- 
lages, deer and other wild animals ran, in the gloom, close to the 
habitations of man. The greatest consternation existed among 
the people. The reports of the mountain were plainly heard 
in Guatemala, and the trembling reached even to Mexico. In 
the more distant sections of the country, the discharges were 
taken for the firing of contending armies. 

"Do you imagine," I asked of the narrator, "that Consi- 
guina will ever again burst forth ?" 

" Quien sabe ?" replied Don Jose Maria, lifting his shoulders 
and taking another pull at his cigarro ; "the volcano could 
never sustain such an eruption again without tearing itself to 
pieces ; but we think here it exhausted itself in that great 
effort. The loudest noises ever heard by mortal ears were the 
bello wings of Consiguina for two days and nights !" 

The Central Americans yet regard Consiguina with distrust, 
and have much more faith in the good behavior of little upstart 
volcanoes, or quiet, familiar old fellows like San Miguel, Concha- 
gua, or Ometepe. During the last ten years there have been 
comparatively few eruptions or earthquakes in Central Ameri- 
ca. The long line of volcanoes bristling against the sky, and 
forming landmarks for the traveler for the whole extent of the 
Pacific coast, seem to have nearly exhausted themselves in 
former attempts. Excepting the earthquake which, in April, 
1854, destroyed San Salvador, and a few minor shocks experi- 
enced in other places, the volcanic agency has given little or no 
cause for alarm. The occasional eruptions in Guatemala and 
San Salvador have but in few instances been attended with se- 
rious consequences. Those known as the water and fire volca- 
noes are among the tallest peaks in Central America; the lat- 
ter, to the southward of Guatemala, still emits fire and smoke. 
Some well-known ones have grown from a level surface within 
the memory of persons still living in San Salvador. 

Following the Pacific coast to the southward an almost con- 
tinuous chain of volcanic peaks appears, in which occurs the 
lofty cone of San Miguel, the range terminating at Conchagua. 
That of San Miguel emits occasional puffs of white smoke 



232 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

which may he seen ten leagues off, wreathing at intervals grace- 
fully against the sky. In 1845 there was a partial outbreak 
of this volcano on the western side, or that opposite to the city. 
For two days preceding the eruption frequent rumblings gave 
warning of the approaching convulsion. The earth trembled 
for many leagues around the mountain, and darkness settled 
upon the country. A panic, such as had not been known 
since the catastrophe of Consiguina, seized upon all minds. 
Prayers were offered up in all the churches, and it is related that 
thieves, conscience-stricken with the appalling premonitions, 
came voluntarily to those they had robbed, restoring the stolen 
property. Many families fled from San Miguel to Tigre Island 
and other more distant places. The lava issued from a small 
crater on the western slope of the volcano, and in two days 
spread over a space of eight miles square, but doing no damage. 

The hacienda of an old native, who, with his family, lived two 
thousand feet up the mountain, was surrounded by the lava, 
which miraculously forked a few yards above his dwelling, and, 
closing again below, continued its fiery progress. The rapidity 
with which the sulphureous exhalations arose saved them from 
suffocation. They were thenceforth regarded as under the es- 
pecial protection of the saints. 

The phenomena attending the numerous eruptions of the line 
of volcanoes extending from Guatemala to Costa Rica present 
some of the most interesting features in geology, and much re- 
mains to be added to the facts already collected by scientific ex- 
plorers. From the earliest settlement of the country by the 
Spaniards, eruptions and earthquakes have destroyed cities and 
desolated leagues of territory. Scarcely a town in Central 
America but has its local account of devastation from these 
causes, and many of the largest cities liave been repeatedly de- 
stroyed. The destruction of the city of San Salvador by earth- 
quake on the night of the 16th of April, 1854, forms one of the 
most frightful narratives on record, and so complete was the 
ruin created in a few minutes, that those inhabitants who es- 
caped fled forever from the place. The seat of government was 
removed to the neighboring town of Cojutepeque, and the site 
of the late city abandoned. 

The effects of earthquakes have seldom extended across the 



EARTIIQUAI^S. 233 

continent. Rare instances are recorded of tremblings along the 
northern coast of Honduras. The most severe known for many 
years occurred from the 5th to the 14th of August, 1856, when 
the entire Caribbean coast was violently shaken. These were 
distinctly felt at Jamaica, and at Balize, Omoa, and Truxillo : 
they were violent and long continued. At Truxillo, no less 
than one hundred and eight shocks w'ere experienced in eight 
days. Honduras, however, has hitherto been singularly ex- 
empt from the visitations afflicting the neighboring republics. 
From inundations, pestilence, and destroying tempests or hurri- 
canes, there are no accounts of the country ever having suffer- 
ed, though the long lines of pine timber encountered in the Ua- 
710S of the sierras prove that violent northers sometimes sweej) 
across the continent. 

A description of the small towns in the Department of Tegu- 
cigalpa, visited during my sojourn in the capital, would be but 
a repetition of those already given of sierra villages. My prin- 
cipal object at those of Villa Nueva, San Buenaventura, Cedros, 
Cantarranos, and Guinope, the principal " 'minerales''' of this re- 
gion, was to obtain, from personal inspection, correct knowledge 
respecting the silver and copper mines, of which, in years past, 
they have been the local centres, and, as such, celebrated 
throughout the state. The pages relating to Central Honduras 
have already been extended beyond my original intention, and, 
as I visited these places a second time on my return from Olan- 
cho, I reserve farther description until my narrative brings me 
back from that department, comprising as it does that part of 
Central America known as "Eastern Honduras." 

The goal of my hopes from the first had been the gold region, 
of which the vague accounts I had already heard were augment- 
ed and confirmed as I drew nearer to the Guayape. Tegucigal- 
pa is but a week's journey from the head waters of this river, 
and I had no difficulty in obtaining a variety of information, 
most of which, however, was limited to hearsay. 

Several old works in the possession of Senor Ugarte, making 
reference to the Guayape and the fame of its placers, were 
kindly placed at my disposal by their owner. While making 
extracts from these, I had leisure to reflect upon the singular 
circumstances which had originated and brought this enterprise 



234 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

to its present condition, and to ponder on the possible results 
of publishing in the form of a book or report the facts brought 
to my notice. Every day I met with respectable persons who, 
knowing the objects of my visit, readily engaged in conversation 
on the subject, and gravely repeated traditions of the richness 
of the famous " gold river," which, but for the frequent realiza- 
tion of such statements in the land of gold I had lately left, 
would have staggered my belief in the sincerity of my inform- 
ants. 

Why such placers as were reported to exist on the Guayape 
and its tributaries were not worked ; why they were not gener- 
ally known to the world ; why the narrators themselves, with 
the knowledge of such facts, failed to avail themselves of them ; 
why the mahogany-cutters communicating with the coast had 
never made them public ; and why the country had not long 
since, like California, been overrun with adventurous gold-hunt- 
ers, were questions I then, as I had often before, asked myseK. 
To these very natural queries the answers are that no means, 
capacity, or inclination has ever existed among the OlancJianos 
to discover the wealth of the lands which have lain under their 
careless footsteps, as those of California did under the tread of 
the Indians, undeveloped for ages, until the hand of industry 
made them available ; and that for two centuries since the con- 
quest of the country, Olancho, which is a northerly continuation 
of the Mosquito coast, has been out of the track of commerce. 
Like the secluded regions of the Mosquito kingdom, its sierras 
and silent cattle-plains have rfemained in the same primitive con- 
dition they occupied fifty years after the early settlement by the 
Spaniards. The traces of the old Spanish workings are yet 
found — their rude implements and deep holes along the banks 
of the rivers. The country, save by a few dreamy legends, has 
been an unknown land to the world. 

Few have actually known of its existence, and not one in ten 
of the best-informed geographers ever heard of " Olancho," or its 
capital, "Jutecalpa." Even Tegucigalpa, a considerable city, 
and situated in the better-known part of Honduras, seems, untU 
lately, to have been left out of every map of Central America. 
Fewer still have cared to penetrate from the coast of the Carib- 
bean Sea into an undefined and distant interior ; and on the Pa- 



THE GUAYAPE GOLD REGION. 235 

cific side, the occasional foreign vessels visiting the coast for pur- 
poses of trade previous to the gold discoveries in California have 
merely touched and departed ; Olancho, until within a few years, 
has been indeed a " sealed book ;" the inhabitants of the rest of 
Honduras seem as much in the dark on this subject as foreign- 
ers, and none were able to give more than hazy statements of the 
Guayape and its placers. Add to this a general dislike of vis- 
iting Olancho from the reported suspicious disposition of its In- 
dians, their jealousy regarding the gold washings, and the natu- 
rally indolent character of the Hondurenos, and it is easily ex- 
plained why the citizens of other sections of the state have not 
commenced the development of the mines. 

The mahogany cutting of the Guayape and Wanks Rivers, 
and, indeed, of all the streams draining Eastern Honduras, dates 
but a few years back. The first done on the Guayape, Guayam- 
bre, or Jalan, all forming the Patook, discharging into the Ca- 
ribbean Sea, was in 1848, and the work, carried on by Jamaica 
negroes and Central Americans, was neither likely to develop the 
gold mines or c^-culate the news that any such existed. The 
few turtle-traders or mahogany-droughers plying along the keys 
between Cape Gracias a Dios and Balize would scarcely be like- 
ly to prove means of disseminating information on any subject, 
nor would their statements be credited. It will thus appear 
why the mineral wealth of Eastern Honduras has remained con- 
finea to the knowledge of a few persons, through whose means 
the facts came into my possession. The fame of the Guayape, 
however, was not unknown in England, and the desire to be- 
come possessed of this country, together with the mahogany in- 
terests of numerous wealthy London houses, may help to ex- 
plain the pertinacity with which Great Britain has clung to the 
apparently worthless coast of Honduras. 

That one of the finest mineral countries in the world, lying 
on a natural highway of our own commerce, should have re- 
mained unoccupied by Americans to the present time, would be 
inexplicable were it not a parallel to the same negligence which 
left undiscovered so long the gold mines of California and Aus- 
tralia. At present, the colonial movements of the Anglo-Sax- 
ons are controlled, or, at least, greatly influenced by discoveries 
of the precious metals. Of these movements, some are injudi- 



236 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

cious and unfortunate, costing immense sums of money and the 
lives of multitudes of adventurers, whose enthusiasm exceeds 
their sagacity. The conditions of rapid and complete success 
in the establishment of a mining colony are threefold : The in- 
habitants of the region colonized should be either too few in 
number to incommode the miners, as was the case in California, 
or well disposed toward them at their first coming ; the cli- 
mate must be either temperate if low, or moderately elevated 
above the ocean if it is tropical ; finally, it must be accessible 
by sea, and will be more easily colonized as it is nearer to some 
one of the grand routes of commerce. 

Let us suppose, for instance, that gold mines similar to those 
of California should be discovered on the shores of Lake Nica- 
ragua, ten days' sail from New York. The climate, which, 
though in the tierra caliente^ is not a deadly one ; the soil, 
the cheapness of all the necessaries of life, and the safe and 
speedy access, would naturally attract thousands of peaceful and 
industrious laborers and settlers, who, without war, but by the 
mere irresistible course of things, would create a new republican 
state in that portion of Central America, entirely independent 
of the series of events transpiring in the last twelve months. 

But, unfortunately for Nicaragua, the gold deposits are in the 
interior, far removed from the line of American travel, and situ- 
ated in the District of Segovia, on the Honduras frontier, where 
commence the great auriferous fields which are to Central Amer- 
ica what the centre of the California mining region is to the sur- 
rounding agricultural districts. The region of the lakes is not 
the region of the precious deposits. 

Those, on the other hand, who have resided for any length of 
time in Nicaragua, or who have conversed freely with travelers 
and natives of that country, will have heard of the " Guayape 
o-old" brought by the Indians and local traders toward the sea- 
coast of Honduras, and reputed the richest in the world. Time 
out of mind this gold has been used by the natives of Central 
America for ornamental purposes, but the placers from which it 
is taken are unknown to the world at large. This gold region 
is near to one of those high roads of our own commerce already 
surveyed for a transit route by an organization of American 
capitalists. I have already referred to the enterprise of the 



PKEPAEATIONS FOR DEPAETURE. 237 

Honduras Inter-oceanic Rail-road. The gold region of Olanclio 
lies due east by easy access from the projected line of transit. 
Every variety of gold deposit has been found upon the Guayape 
and its tributaries, and the lesser particles are diffused through 
the soil and sands of every stream or canon in the country. 

These facts, startling as they may appear, and already made 
the subject of my own magazine and pamphlet publications, are 
at this moment disclosing themselves before the adventurous 
tread of the American miner, and many months can not elapse 
before Olancho, with its healthy climate, valuable vegetable 
products, and extensive region of gold placers, must become the 
home of considerable numbers of our people. 

It was with a knowledge of the above facts, somewhat ma- 
tured by conversation with the best informed natives I could 
find, that I set about preparing for my departure from the city, 
where in a few weeks I had made many warm friends, all of 
whom gave me their best wishes and loads of advice for the 
success of my enterprise. After the customary delays, without 
which no negotiation can ever be brought to a successful close 
in Central America, I secured from the supreme government 
some valuable privileges, among which was the right to enter 
into all manner of contracts for mining or commercial purposes 
with natives of the country, which must be subject to the sanc- 
tion and approval of the government. All mechanical imple- 
ments, machinery, scientific instruments, and other articles nec- 
essary for the eventual consummation of such contracts were to 
be admitted free of duty, and the vessels unrestricted in their 
navigation of the rivers. This decree having been published in 
the Gaceta, the government organ, my kind friend Cabanas, to 
impart additional importance to my enterprise, sent me an ap- 
pointment as " Honduras Consul General in the United States," 
a passport through Honduras signed by the Minister of Ilaci- 
ejida, a packet of introductory letters to all persons of import- 
ance in Olancho, and particularly to the " Zelaya family;" a 
trusty traveling guide and servant, and, on the evening previous 
to my departure, called at the house with his parting advice and 
to say '■'Adios /" Other friends also came to express their kind 
wishes and to give me additional letters of introduction. 

Meantime all preparations had been made, and on the follow- 



238 EXPLOEATIONS m HONDUEAS. 

ing morning, at peep of dawn, the mules were Ibrought out into 
the patio, where my muchacho,^6ber:to, had them speedily sad- 
dled and loaded. I had engaged an acquaintance, Seiior L , 

of Tegucigalpa, to accompany me in the capacity of draughts- 
man, some very correct drawings of his having been shown me, 
and he expressing a desire to visit Olancho on his own account. 
I soon found him to he an agreeable companion, while his 
knowledge of the people was of frequent use. Our little train 
of five mules trotted gayly out of the city, which we had left 
some distance behind us as the sun arose over the eastern edge 
of the Cordilleras. 

It was with feelings akin to exultation that I found myself 
once more abroad, mounting the rugged spurs of the mountains, 
inhaling again the soft but bracing upland breezes, " my scrip 
and purse" well lined, mules in good order, cheerful compan- 
ions, a budget of excellent introductory letters to the princi- 
pal Olanchanos, and the countenance and favor of the govern- 
ment and leading families to assist my enterprise. Our "lug- 
gage" was equally divided between the two pack-mules, one car- 
rying the provisions, and the other our clothes, instruments, and 
traveling paraphernalia. A mile from La Paroquia we crossed 
the Rio Grande, from which we made a steep ascent of a thou- 
sand feet above the city. From this summit we started for the 
village of Rio Abajo, situated about two leagues to the N.N.E. 
of Tegucigalpa. Stopping on two occasions to make sketches, 
our boys and pack-mules got far in advance, and pursuing our 
route to the village, we found them wrangling with a party of re- 
cruiting soldiers. The mules had been unloaded, and a formida- 
ble squad of barelegged fellows surrounded the disconsolate par- 
ty, now augmented by the father of Roberto, all vociferating at 
the pitch of their lungsl Muskets were handled furiously, and 
in the midst stood my servant, wringing his hands, and looking 
the personification of grief. As we rounded a bend in the road, 
this picturesque scene burst suddenly into view. We galloped 
to the spot, while Roberto and his father rushed toward us, sput- 
tering and gesticulating like maniacs. While I was listening 
to their statement, an officer, somewhat better dressed than the 
rest, approached. 

" Seiior," said I, " of what crime has my servant been guilty, 
that you detain him ?" 



CATCHING SOLDIERS. 239 

" Of no crime, caballero," replied the officer ; "but the gov- 
ernment has commissioned me to catch {coger) soldiers for the 
army, as well as to seize upon all mules found on the road, and 
I am hut doing my duty." 

"But," I replied, "are you not aware that I am traveling 
through the country under the protection of government ? See, 
liere is my passport as Honduras consul, and here are letters for 
the President himself." 

" In that case, caballero, I release you ; but here comes m}- 
superior officer. Colonel Rubi." 

And in truth, from a branch road, at that moment he appear- 
ed, with a long train of men, numbering some two hundred, walk- 
ing two and two, dirty and bedraggled, and, withal, the sorriest 
looking creatures I had seen in the country. Upon recognizing 
me the colonel rode hastily up, and, his quick eye detecting the 
state of affairs, he berated the official in no measured terms for 
his stupidity, and then, handing me a cigar, begged that I would 
think no more of the indignity. While the men were reloading 
the mules, I found time to inquire of my friend the colonel the 
object of this " cogiendo,'''' as it is termed. 

"This is a sad anomaly," said I, "on your boasted demo- 
cratic institutions. "Oh! as for that," he replied, "it is done 
all through Central America ; the country must be defended, 
and then we pay them. General Cabaiios becomes a father to 
these poor fellows ; but, despite all he does for them, they take 
the first opportunity to run away home again. Would you be- 
lieve it, only two weeks since Colonel was coming out of 

Toro with a hundred of them for the army, when they revolted 
in the road, and all took to their heels into the woods, leaving 
the colonel to ride back alone." 

I could not blame them for such a very natural resistance, 
but inquired, "Do you ever penetrate into Olancho to 'catch' 
soldiers ?" 

"Caramba! no," replied the colonel, with a grim smile. 
" Those Olanchanos are diahlos ! They carry long knives and 
guns, and when they are too few to fight they hide in the mount- 
ains with the Indians. No, no, we never attempt to catch them ; 
they are Tnuy hravo, and altogether beyond our control. Many 
years since the supreme government invaded Olancho, but it was 



240 



EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 



the Jirst and last time," lie added, with a significant nod. " The 
government is afraid of the Olanchanos,''^ he said, after a mo- 
ment's silence; "they are a little republic by themselves." 

The colonel laughed at the idea of my effecting any contract 
with the Zelayas, and repeated the old Central American prov- 
erb, '•'■Olancho^ ancho para entrar, angosto jpara salir,'''' a warn- 
ing which, whether it applied to the fascinations of the women 
or the hidden perils of the country, I was little disposed to take 
to myself. 

The hombres cojidos were again put in motion, the colonel 
first seeing them pass before him on the road toward Tegucigalpa, 
and then, with a gay " adios •■'" he spurred after them, and was 
out of sight in a twinkling. 

One of the mules having grown lame, it was determined to 
send to the city for another, which detained us until afternoon. 
As the next town, San Diego de Talanga, was eight leagues 
distant, it was deemed prudent to pass the night at Rio Abajo. 




VIEW NEAK KIO ABAJO. 



The mules were consequently unloaded and placed inside of 
our stopping-place, the house of Senor Laines, Roberto's father, 
where we prepared to make ourselves comfortable amid screech- 
ing children, fleas, indescribable noises, and the essence of dirt. 
There are eleven houses in Rio Abajo. On a little hillock near 
our house Don Domingo Somebody was making soap out of 



VILLAGE ACCOMMODATIONS. 241 

goat's flesh, which he stirred with a stick as it boiled over the 
crackling fire. The boiler Avas of adobe, plastered within, and set 
into a rude framework of brick. This is the only soap used or 
made in the country towns, and very wretched stuff it is. But 
little pains are taken to exclude dirt. 

Entering the house, I found one of the children moaning 
with pain produced by a diseased leg, which, probably from ex- 
posm*e, was shriveled into a misshapen stick. My fame as a 
medico had not escaped Roberto, and I was immediately be- 
sought to examine the patient. I had long since learned to 
comply with such requests with the best grace, and, after a due 
consultation, prescribed out of my box a mixture of camphor, 
salt, and Cayenne pepper, to be dissolved in hot water, and rub- 
bed upon the limb. Either from a general faith in the pre- 
scriber, or the effect of the chafing, the pain subsided, greatly to 
my astonishment, and thus, much against my will, I found my 
reputation enhanced. 

To my efforts in the medical science was no doubt owing the 
excellent supper spread before us by the gratified mother. 
Among the dishes was a tureen of sour cream, into which were 
freshly broken bits of newly-baked tortillas, hot from the fire. 
After supper my boy slung my hammock, and I had hardly 
dropped into a doze when the groaning of the child again 
aroused me. We were nine persons sleeping in the only room 
in the house. At my call for a light the senora entered with a 
blazing pine knot, and the little hut, thus illumined, presented 
a spectacle I was not then used to, but which, ere long, became 
familiar by frequent repetition. On the two beds of hide lay a 
heap of children, stark naked, their eyes blinking painfully in 
the glare of the torch. The senora herself was clad in a scanty 
night-dress, over which her long, coarse hair fell with a wild, un- 
natural look, heightened by the spectacle of her black eyes and 
swarthy face. The features of Seuor Laines protruded from be- 
neath a ragged coverlet, reminding me of a bear thrusting its 
shaggy head from a bunch of underbrush. L — : — , enveloped in 
a sheet, lay snoring beneath my hammock ; the servants were 
coiled up on the saddles and mule-blankets ; the centre of the 
house was occupied by several dogs, who seemed little disposed 
to move at the shrill voice of the mistress of the mansion. On 

Q 



242 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

a framework, erected for their special accommodation, was a row 
of fighting-cocks, whose discontent at the sudden illumination 
was expressed in deep chuckles of rage and vicious pecks. Over- 
head from the rafters dangled strings of sausages, Chili peppers, 
plantains, and a variety of garden vegetables, the whole scarce- 
ly discernible through a network of cobwebs, whose nimble-foot- 
ed proprietors — they too awakened into sudden vigilance by the 
torchlight — hastened about in fearful proximity to my nose. 

The Cayenne pepper, salt, and camphor were again applied, 
and this time with such success that the little sufferer went to 
sleep. The night was cool, so as to require the use of all my 
bedclothes. On the following morning we were early astir. 
While the boys were saddHng the mules, we had a few moments 
to gaze around us. The sun rose over a cloudless crest of blue 
mountains, known as the Jutiapa range. The little village is 
placed in an extensive valley, surrounded by numerous peaks, 
all of which, in the early dawn, have that singular variegated hue 
never seen out of the clear mountain regions. The voices of a 
variety of birds came from the adjoining woods, and dirty, squal- 
id, and miserable as the hamlet seemed, I felt a thrill of pleas- 
ure in gazing abroad upon the marvelous beauty of the scene- 
ry. We were soon beyond the noise of pigs, dogs, and poultry, 
and again in the open country, our mules plodding briskly up 
and down the cuestas, and the jubilant Roberto from time to time 
breaking out into a half crying, half ludicrous song, apparently 
the lament of some ill-used senorita to a naughty padre, 

" / que estais haciendo, Fraile Pedro, Fraile Pedro, 
! que estais haciendo, Fraile Pedro f 

at the close of which he would dash his stick at the nearest 
mule, causing a temporary stampede in the train, and a tremen- 
dous jolting of their assorted loads. 

At 9 A.M. we arrived at a small collection of huts known as 
Cofradilla. Our course from Rio Abajo was nearly N.E., and 
making a very gradual ascent. From Cofradilla the view is 
fine, the Montanas de las Moras bounding the horizon to the 
N.N.E., and those of Cantoral to the N.W. The former range 
is named from the blackberries, which, in the season of them, are 
found in great quantities. Before rising the mountain, imme- 
diately after leaving Rio Abajo, we had forded the Rio Grande 



COFRADILLA. 



243 



at the Fernando Soto^ crossing where I was informed several 
persons had been drowned in attempting to pass it. 

We rode up to the house of Seuora Soto, the principal habi- 
tation of the place, and b j the display of a few reales induced the 
mistress to send for some milk and chickens, to which we did 
full justice. Here I saw the Chichicasta-iree, a species of cow- 
hage, but not the Dolichos j)ruriens. JSTear the house were a 
few rude plows and farming implements, but all was still and 
apparently palsied. Far awaj on a bleak hill I could discern 
two human forms, but with these exceptions there was no sign 
of life, save in the shape of a few squalid children. Deep pine- 
forests, silent but for the murmur of the breeze through their 
tops, bounded the view to the east and north. The sensations 
with which one moves through these dreary soKtudes are inex- 
pressibly sad. The herbage is low and uninviting in appearance, 
and the change from the floral wealth of the Nicaraguan low- 
lands to these elevated regions is marked and striking. 

Leaving the little village, we continued our course to the 
northeastward, and, after traveling two leagues through an ap- 
parently interminable labyrinth of steep mountains, came to the 
Rio Ylimapa, a noisy mountain affluent of the Rio Grande. 
Crossing this, we found ourselves at the JDase of a remarkable 
limestone hill, which, shooting up like the steppes of a miniature 




LZMEBTONE HILL. 



244 



EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 



mountain range, formed a "beautiful natural fortification. The 
road wound gradually up its side, and the whole, which was of 
the color and nearly of the consistency of chalk, shone beneath 
the ardent sun as if it had been newly painted white ; it was 
difficult to gaze upon it fixedly for a moment. The mules' feet 
have worn a series of steps as regularly defined as if cut by art. 
From its crest we gazed beyond toward the Montanas de los 
Banchitos, far to the eastward, their distant tops penciled in 
sharp outline against the blue ether. 

There is a gentle descent from thfe hill before you commence 

rising the lofty peaks beyond. L made a sketch of this, as 

well as of another remarkable rock capping the Tusterique Hill, 




TTTSTEEIQITE HILL. 



which we passed a league farther on. Here appears a cave, ap- 
parently built by an extinct race. The stones of granite are laid 
regularly as by the hands of architects. Within these are 
squared blocks, the whole overgrown with shrubbery. The out- 
side is covered with a dense growth of vines and bushes. Nei- 
ther of my boys knew any thing of its origin, nor had any inqui- 
ries ever been made on the subject. The difficulty of the ascent 
and the lack of time prevented my giving it the deserved atten- 
tion. The interior is haunted by quantities of bats, said to be a 
species of the vampyre, and by which some of the finest mules in 



VALLEY OF TALAl^GA. 246 

the countiy have been seriously wounded. A league beyond, 
we crossed a very clear and rapid stream, called el Rio Zorilla, 
or Skunk Eiver. The sparkling waters gave the lie to its un- 
savory name. It flows from the N.W. into the Bio Grande. 
The mountains oi Ranchito still arose in our course. Beyond 
them comes the plain of Talanga, in which the town of that 
name is situated. The intervening country is of granite and 
limestone formation, interspersed with a red rock, easily crum- 
bling and breaking into minute squares. The boldness of the 
hill sides, however, in many places had exposed them to the ac- 
tion of storms, which, laying bare the white substances beneath, 
left huge, unsightly, sunburnt streaks, glittering from afar over 
the heated and silent country. The mountain ridges were scant- 
ily wooded with pine and oak. 

This Eanchito range once crossed, we looked down upon the 
o-reat valley of Talanga. The descent is abrupt and precipitous. 
In all directions lay heaps of fallen pines, whose roots, apparent- 
ly penetrating not a foot into the shallow soil, were clogged with 
lumps of sand and limestone. The road, leading around a prom- 
ontory or spur of the mountain, afforded a beautiful view of the 
valley, an extensive and fertile plain still wet with the late rains. 
We followed a miry path along the Quebrada de Talanga or Eio 
Salado, as it is sometimes called. This is said to be one of the 
branches of the Sulaco, flowing into the Humuya. 

The road, which over the " cuestai'' had been hard and dry, 
now became muddy, heavy, and obstructed with long, trailing 
roots. Vegetation assumed a ranker appearance, and the black 
loam bore thousands of bright green plants and numerous at- 
tractive flowers. Swamps, impenetrable for their dense under- 
growth, bordered the path to the left, and a forest of endless va- 
riety to the right. Night overtook us in this slough of despond, 
although we belabored our animals without mercy. The hum 
of myriads of insects, and the voice of night reptiles, came loud- 
ly through the air. At last we began to see what in the dark- 
ness appeared to be an opening ahead, and our mules, slipping 
and stumbling in mud nearly of the consistency of putty, snuff- 
ed eagerly at the prospect of a speedy termination of their la- 
bors. We came out upon a great plain covered with low, clus- 
tering trees, and, though very fertile, said to be unhealthy. It 
is but little cultivated. 



246 



EXPLOEATIONS IN HOKDUEAS. 



After leaving the swamp we followed a mule-path for two 
leagues through darkened thickets, frequently crossing little 
streams, until a sudden turn brought us in sight of a glare of 
red light, which, with explosions of bomlbs and the cries of an 
excited population, made me doubt for a moment the propriety 
of entering the town. 

"A revolution, sure as fate," said L . 

But, as we drew nearer, the sound of fiddles and guitars unde- 
ceived us, and, clapping spurs to our jaded beasts, we cantered 
into the little town of San Diego de Talanga. We found the 




BAN DIEGO DE TAIANGA. 



Plaza and streets light as day with bonfires, and the houses 
re-echoing the explosions of crackers, torpedoes, and homhas, 
among which the juvenile population yelled and capered, their 
dusky forms flitting among the flames like so many imps incar- 
nate. At first glance the scene was picturesque, but all ro- 
mance vanished upon closer inspection. 

There was a general rush toward us as we passed through 
the fiery ordeal, causing our pack-mules to gallop off into the 
darkness, followed by Diego and Roberto, whose indignant " Ga- 
rainba ! que rrvuchachos estos /" was returned with a shout from 
the half-crazy youngsters. While the boys were driving the 



FEAST OF SAN DIEGO. 247 

animals back, we were surrounded by a group of hideous old 
beldames, whose leathery skins, bleared eyes, and withered fea- 
tures reminded us of the weird sisters of the blasted heath. 
To my inquiries, they replied that this was the grand dia de 
fiesta of Talanga, when all persons, from the priest down, were 
licensed to get drunk, dance, and yell to their hearts' content, a 
fact I was not disposed to dispute, judging from the grotesque 
figures around me. The appearance of these half-naked, wrin- 
kled witches was rendered more horrible by the glare of the 
bonfires. 

Turning from this sickening spectacle we rode to the cabilda, 
where another crowd, in somewhat better trim than they of the 

Plaza, directed us to the house of an acquaintance of L , a 

Senor Don Gregorio Moncada, living near the church. We rode 
to the adobe hut designated, dismounted, and were received with 
noisy welcome. They were a young couple, the seiiora having 
been recently married, and before the nuptials said to have been 
one of the belles of Cedros, a town some ten leagues to the 
northward. The conversation of the lady gradually dissipated 
the unfavorable impression I had first formed of Talanga. She 
disliked the place, she said, and longed for nothing so much as 
to live in Tegucigalpa, to her the head-quarters of elegance and 
fashion in the world. In fact, Honduras was her world, for she 
knew nothing about any other. After supper, we followed the 
direction of a band of musicians to the opposite side of the 
Plaza. This was the last day of the feast, and the inhabitants 
were determined to see the afiair over with due demonstrations. 
We stood with the crowd at the door, and looked into the house, 
where the whirling dancers were stepping out to the twang and 
squeak of the instruments. Suddenly the master of the house 
caught sight of my anti-Central American face, and in another - 
moment was at the door for a nearer view. A whispered word 
from Roberto, revealing that I was an Americano del JVbrte 
and a government ofiicial, such an acquisition to his ball was 
not to be despised, and, authoritatively clearing a lane before 
me, he politely begged us to enter and select a partner. To 
say that we did not accept the invitation and join in the line of 
whizzing couples would be an injustice to the genei^ous host, 
who designated to us the best waltzers in the room. The floor 



248 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

was of mud, and the walls of unburnt adobes. So the reader 
can easily imagine the company Iby the style of reception-hall. 

On returning to the house of Don Gregorio, we found a fire 
blazing in a corner of the one room constituting the interior of 
the dwelling, and, truly, the rather sharp air seemed to warrant 
it. At a given signal the lights were modestly extinguished, 
and in the darkness could be heard the silent rustling from dif- 
ferent corners denoting the preparations of the numerous occu- 
pants for the night's rest. Mine was the only hammock, and 
this, slung from the old rafters, served me far better than the 
miserable arrangements of bulls' hide stretched around beneath. 
Excepting the usual flea-pest and the distracting bleating of 
goats, nothing disturbed our slumbers, and early on the follow- 
ing morning we arose much refreshed. During the packing 
process I strayed out into the Plaza to view the town. It was 
a miserable collection of adobe huts, the church the only pre- 
tending edifice among them. A religious procession, consisting 
of all the women of the place, headed by the padre, passed by 
the house just as we were mounting. They carried a ridiculous 
effigy of the patron saint of the place (San Diego), and, with all 
my customary gravity on such occasions, I had much to do to 
restrain my laughter. The old fellow, with a beard a foot in 
length, and clad in the cheap finery of the town, was seated on 
a chair, his brows crowned with palm-leaves, and a veritable 
sailor's tin pot in his hand. By some piece of carelessness on 
the part of his bearers, his head had got loose, the motion of 
which was precisely like that of a drunken fiddler nodding with 
maudlin stupidity to the crowd. The tin pot, emblematical of 
potations, and the crown of what, at a distance, resembled grape- 
leaves, completed the Bacchanalian resemblance. Lifting our 
hats reverentially to this august group, we rode hastily away, 
but, once out of hearing, we roared for three miles beyond the 
town. 

The Seiiora Nicolasa Moncada had kindly filled a pickle bot- 
tle with butter for us, but, ere half a mile of our journey had 
been accomplished, the clumsy Diego, to whom it had been in- 
trusted, let it drop — purposely, I believe — and this doubtful 
delicacy was denied us. An hour's rapid trot took us across 
the valley to the foot of the Vindel Mountains. As we ascend- 



LAS CUEVAS. 



249 



ed them we looked back upon the town, which, like all Spanish 
settlements, has the most attractive appearance at a distance. 

On our way up the rugged ascent we encountered a train of 
mules efi route for San Miguel. In advance rode two women, 
carrying baskets with holes in the tops, out of which protruded 
the red gills of half a dozen fighting-cocks. One of the arieros 
had a lusty fellow strapped at his hack. They hoped to reach 
San Miguel in time to enter their birds at the approaching fair 
of November. 

We stopped at noon at Las Cuevas, or the Caves, midway be- 
tween Talanga and Guaymaca. Under the projecting brow of a 
cliff is a deep indentation in the hill, blackened with the smoke 
of many fires, denoting where travelers have stopped to cook. 
A stream of water flows past this place, and here we dismount- 
ed to make coifee. While 
thus engaged, a train of 
cattle from Olancho, on 
their way to San Miguel, 
came past. They were 
healthy and fat, and their 
passing gave rise to some 
thrilling stories from my 
boys in relation to the dan- 
gerous calling of a drover. 
Sometimes herds of cattle, 
numbering two thousand, 
are driven out of Olancho 
into Guatemala, and on the 
road the vaqueros are oft- 
en attacked by the infuri- 
ated animals, and gored to 
death. These men have 
been found hanging, torn 
and mangled , from the limb 
of a tree on the road side, 
where, after killing them, the beasts had tossed the bodies with 
their horns. 

From where we were sitting my attention was drawn to a 
tree with a dense rich green foliage, some twenty feet in height. 




TEAVELEE8 NOONING. 



250 EXPLOEATIONS JN HONDUEAS. 

and standing apart from a number of trees much resembling 
sycamores. Diego collected from the limbs some of the dried 
berries, or fruit of the past season, which I immediately recog- 
nized as similar to those I had seen for sale in the Plaza mar- 
ket at Tegucigalpa, in small baskets, with the name ai jpimiento 
gordo. It was the real allspice, as I found by putting them to 
my tongue. They are worth about ten cents a pound in the 
markets. I afterward found that it flourishes with remarkable 
vigor and beauty in all parts of Olancho. In a dozen rides I 
encountered its tail, well-proportioned trunk, its dark brown 
bark smooth as the silver birch. The foliage resembles that of 
the bay-tree. Its presence may often be detected by the aro- 
matic odor fiUing the air. Though the allspice-tree is largely 
cultivated in the West India islands, no similar attempt ap- 
pears to have been made in the adjacent main land. The na- 
tives gather the fruit from the wild tree in the flowering season 
(July) in a green state. They are brought in bags to the small 
towns of Olancho, placed in the sun, winnowed, and, when com- 
pletely dried and wrinkled, are sold to the dealers, who, after 
collecting a sufficient quantity, bale them up for the fair of San 
Miguel. The seeds are said to be dropped about the country 
by birds, thus propagating them to infinity. 

The allspice is not found in sufficient quantities to warrant 
the establishment of a trade, but the excellent quality of that 
gathered by the natives shows that it could be cultivated with 
great success. Its name, aZfepice, arises from a supposed com- 
bination of the aroma of the nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon. It 
is used throughout Honduras to season food, and is generally 
known as jpimiento gordo. It flowers in Olancho in July and 
August. In two of the private gardens of Tegucigalpa several 
specimens of this tree were growing when I was last there. 
They are valued in such locations particularly for their aro- 
matic fragrance, which, after a shower, when the leaves and fruit 
have been shaken and bruised, is very grateful. 

Our repast ended, we once more mounted and followed the 
trail to the northeast. The pine region still continued, inter- 
spersed with occasional clumps of other trees, the more notice- 
able for their rarity. But the country gradually grew more 
open, and sloped down from the Vindel Mountains toward the 



y 



NIGHT IN THE SIERRA.. 251 

valley of Guaymaca, discovering, at times, extensive grazing 
plains crossed by rivulets. Some of these were two or three 
leagues in extent, and, at my expressions of admiration, my boy 
Diego gravely advised me to preserve my astonishment for Olan- 
cho, where, he had always heard, were the most beautiful val- 
leys in Honduras. The rancho of Ojos de Agua is the only 
habitation between Talanga and Guaymaca. This we passed 
without visiting, as it lay a mile to the northward of the road. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Night in the Sierra. — A Norther in the Vindel Mountains. — Perils of the Pass. — 
Guaymaca. — A Midnight Reception. — " Tired Nature's Sweet Restorer." — 
Preparing for the "Funcion." — Hunting for a Breakfast. — Squalid Misery. — 
A Mountain Scene. — Volcan de Guaymaca. — Salto. — El Rio Rodondo. — A 
Source of the Guayape. — Inaugural Ceremonies. — Campamento. — Mary of the 
Holy Cross. — Midnight Musings.-^ An Earthquake. — ^Appearance of the Cam- 
pamento Range. — Cold Weather. — Glowing Accounts by "las Lavaderas." — 
Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficulties. — Gold Washing in the Rio de Con- 
cordia. — Visions. — Rio Guayapita. — Rio Almendarez. — El Valle de Lepa- 
guare. — Cattle. — Scenery of the Valley. 

Night came on, and the faint light which had a while allow- 
ed us to distinguish the path now gave place to an impenetra- 
ble gloom. The forest waved ominously, and the silence main- 
tained by all brought more sadly to mind the loneliness of our 
position. Heavy drops of rain began to patter among the leaves, 
and far behind us, through the darkness, came the prolonged howl 
of some gaunt denizen of the forest, which I believed to be a 
cougar : the tiger of Central America rarely awakens the echoes 
with its cries. 

Cautiously our faithful animals felt their way along the path, 
the stones slipping from under their feet at every step ; now 
sliding down some declivity unseen by the rider, but evidently 
visible to them, and again mounting, with a half scramble, the 
fragments of some splintered boulder obstructing the path, or as 
often stopping to smell, with ears erect, at the stump of a tree 
protruding into the road. Under such circumstances, it is folly 
to attempt guiding these sagacious camels of the sierra. With 
the reins gathered loosely, clear of their steps, we allowed them 



252 



EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 



to select their own gait and path, which being utterly unable to 
discern, we resigned ourselves, with all the faith we could mus- 
ter, to the discretion of our sure-footed beasts. It is under 
such circumstances that the value of the mule becomes appar- 
ent, when the horse, noble animal as he is, would precipitate 
himself and rider to destruction for the lack of this unerring 
certainty of step. 

On each side of us the gnarled and dripping limbs tossed their 
branches in the north wind, which, as the darkness spread over 
the sierras, gradually increased into a storm. At times, when 
the windings of the road brought the gale to our backs, the 
mules hastened before it, carefully drooping their long, tender 
ears from the pelting rain ; but when brought to face the blast 
they swerved aside, or came to a dead stand, from which blunt- 
ed spurs, anathemas, and blows seemed alike incapable of arous- 
ing them. 







JN THE MOUNT UN BTOK'\i 



The roaring of the storm among the pines, mingled with the 
crash of falling trees, the bitter spite of the wind, the darkness, 
and the broken character of the road, combined to make this the 
most fearful night we had encountered, and I secretly cursed 
the folly of undertaking a winter journey into a country at best 



A MOUNTAIN STORM. 253 

but little known, and for an object of the existence of which I 
had hitherto only heard exaggerated legends and the obscure 

accounts of the natives of the country. L pulled his hat 

over his face, and, with head bent to the mule's neck, spurred 
and kicked his animal forward. I shouted back to him, and he 
screamed in reply, but a dash of blinding rain bore away his 
words, and, at the same instant, a . stout pine, which had been 
piping in its upper limbs like the rigging of a ship, swayed 
fearfully in the gale, and crashed to the earth over the path we 
had but a moment before crossed. The breaking of its limbs 
resounded through the woods above the voice of the storm. 

" CarambaP^ said Koberto, spitting the rain from his mouth 
and crossing himself; " qice noche espantosa /" 

I now recalled the long lines of pines fallen in one direction 
which I had seen extending leagues through the woods toward 
Zas Ouevas, and could readily imagine the cause of their down- 
fall. The violent northers, bursting upon the coast of Mexico 
and along the Spanish Main, always extend into the Cordille- 
ras of Central America, where, pent up among the mountain bar- 
riers, they tear with resistless fury through the canons and 
passes, often overturning mule and rider, and leveling leagues 
of forest. 

The Atlantic slope of the sierra toward Olancho is intersect- 
ed with narrow gorges, acting as funnels or conductors to the 
winter gales. Similar formations are found in the mountains 
of Gracias, toward the Guatemalan frontier, where a location 
has become famous from the fact that, in passing it, the rider 
must dismount and crawl through, or take the chance of flying, 
with his animal, down some precipice, where the zopilotes and 
cougars might thank the norther for their feast. We pushed 
on, now scrambling up declivities, whose winding pathway, cut 
up with rivulets born of the storm, and tumbling fiercely along 
their stony beds, formed a rolling and uncertain foothold for the 
animals, or holding back, as the road, pitched at a steep angle, 
obliged them to half slide to the evener ground beneath. 

In the piercing cold, it required some stretch of imagination 
to conjure up phrases illustrative of tropical climes ; in short, 
the weather was as untropical as could well be imagined, and 
this, too, in a region commonly associated with death-dealing 



254 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

miasmas, swamps redolent of malaria, and the cadaverous fea- 
tures of the fever-stricken residents. The difference between 
the tierras calientes of the Mosquito coast and the cool table- 
lands of all interior Honduras is the most remarkable fact forc- 
ing itself upon the foreigner. 

Toward midnight we approached the village of Guaymaca, 
situated in the valley of that name. The storm still swept the 
ravines as we descended. Removed from the ordinary routes 
of travel, these mountain villages present pictures of extreme 
poverty, unrelieved by any communication with the outer little 
world of Honduras, itself a hermit's cell compared with the 
other Central American states. I have endeavored to depict the 
condition of these settlements in the few already described, that 
the future traveler, if such there should ever be in these parts, 
may form some idea of the entertainment he is likely to meet 
with. Tou encounter them at long intervals, with each eight 
or ten leagues of intermediate desolation. 

The villagers seem to have nothing to eat, or, if they have, it 
is so little that they are loth to share or sell it. A few tortil- 
las, a flock of lean fowls, perhaps an attenuated porker, consti- 
tute the only visible means of subsistence for each family. Let 
the reader picture a barren mountain path winding among such 
scenery as has already been described. It is in the dry season : 
a cold night wind whistles through the scanty herbage, carrying 
clouds of dust, and half sweeping you from your saddle. You 
have fasted since daylight, and a mind predisposed to despond- 
ency by weariness and hunger, for a long time silently endured, 
is excited to ill-defined but sad forebodings. Suddenly the dis- 
tant bark of a dog arouses your sensitive mules. They quicken 
their pace, and slide rapidly down the steep declivities. If it be 
in the wet season, you are probably saturated with rain, and 
blinded with the incessant lightning flashes, almost searing 
your eye-balls with their intensity. Soon you are advancing 
upon a level ground, and in the middle of a small plain, an 
eighth of a mile wide, may be seen the outline of some Indian 
huts. A troop of savage curs rushes out, and your advance is 
announced by a grand chorus of pigs, mules, horses, and feath- 
ered choristers, but as yet no sign or voice of humanity ; no 
lights in the village ; all dark, silent, and asleep. The ghostly 



VILLAGE HOSPITALITY. 255 

outlines of the surrounding hills, give forth a solemn and chill- 
ing murmur from amid the pine groves skirting their summits. 

Saddle-sore, and faint with weariness and a day's hunger, you 
alight, and, after stumbling through duck-ponds and ditches, 
grope your way to the entrance of the largest hut amid a collec- 
tion of reeking cabins of adobe, more resembling those of Hot- 
tentots than of even semi-civilized beings. You forbear to open 
the doors forcibly, remembering certain snarling wolf- curs, 
against whose glistening teeth neither leggins nor boot-tops 
are proof. You raise the voice in silvery Castilian, pleading for 
admission : answer, a grunt. You add pecuniary inducements 
in more emphatic Castilian; answer, a burst of baby voices 
shrieking in chorus, and the scold of the vigilant senora, arous- 
ing her sleepy Don, and bidding him open the door to the stran- 
gers. Don Fulano, alcalde primero of a hundred natives, rolls 
half-naked from his bull's hide, to the sorrow of an army of fleas, 
opens the door a crack, and, peering forth into the wet night, 
utters the monosyllable " Quien .^" 

A parley ensues, in which the principal arguments on his side 
are, 

"iVo hay para comer,'''' '■^ muy pobre,'''' ^'■ni viveres ni camas 
hay ,'"'"' and on yours, 

" Official del Gobierno" '■'■El JPresidente Cabanas,'''' ^'■Don 
Francisco Zelaya,'''' " Christianas^'' and, what is better than 
all, the careless jingle of a few reales, which you allow the light 
from the chinks to strike upon and glisten in the rain. At 
length the door is opened, and you have permission to occupy 
the floor for the night, or perhaps to sling your hammock from 
the rafters. 

To sleep, however, is impossible ; the snoring of the Don, 
who answers with an invariable grunt the hourly scolding of 
the senora, urging his attention to the natural necessities of a 
half dozen unsavory brats ; the crowing and stirring of fowls 
overhead, of whose situation you are exactly informed by the 
laws of gravitation ; the shrieking of donkeys, baying of dogs — 
these, with that indomitable little mailed war-horse of the insect 
tribe, the flea, render the night more miserable than the day, and 
make you " hail smiling morn" with a fervor of thankfulness not 
to be described. You rise at dawn, inhale unspeakable com- 



256 EXPLOEATIONS m HONDURAS. 

fort firom your dear pipe, sip a cup of chocolate or coffee, per- 
form hasty abkitions in the nearest brook, mount, and away 
again, thridding with renewed courage the dreary, interminable 
windings of the mountain passes. 

At Guaymaca we were thus received, and passed a night such 
as few can appreciate who have not experienced the like. But 
at morning, as we issued from the hut, we found an entirely dif- 
ferent scene from that of the previous night. The day was clear 
and still. The storm-clouds had drifted far away to the west- 
ward, and a blue sky spanned the little amphitheatre of Guay- 
maca. An atmosphere of Italian purity and softness invigorated 
the system, and seemed to nerve us anew for the mountain path. 
A girl of some seventeen years entered the hut as we were break- 
fasting. A traveling peddler, with dress patterns, ribbons, and 
women's trinkets, came in shortly after, and an argument ensued 
between the two as to cuatro reales in the price of a dress which 
the rural belle wished to purchase for the ensuing '-'- funcion.^'' 
With an eye to a future hospitable reception on our return, I 
bought it and presented it to the mother, who immediately flew 
out of doors, and, having rummaged the little town, returned with 
a dozen eggs, a fowl, and a pyramid of tortillas, thus adding 
greatly to our stock of provisions. The feast of San Diego, 
they said, should have been celebrated a week before, but the 
padre had been sick, and there was no one to conduct the ap- 
propriate religious ceremonies. 

Previous to my lucky strike with the Senora Hipolita, and 
the compliment to the Nina Alvina, her daughter, I had made a 
short foraging expedition around the town, consisting of four- 
teen adobe huts, but with no success. 

" This is a land of plenty, seiior," said a negress, who, with 
a child straddled across her hip, stopped to answer to my in- 
quiry for something to eat, "but the grasshoppers have eaten 
every thing this year." 

I applied at a cabin where a barefooted old dame, with gray, 
straggling hair floating down her face, was sweepmg the floor 
with a brush broom. 

" Senor," said she, "we have little to eat here ourselves; 
this is a time of sad scarcity — Yaya con Dios /" and she shut 
the door, herself the picture of want and misery. 



MOUNTAIN SCENERY. 257 

The alcalde I found stretched asleep upon a bench, his hair 
standing on end "like a hurrah's nest," and his bare feet plas- 
tered Avith pink mud. 

" Aniigo,'' said I, with due respect to his office, "assist me 
in purchasing a few tortillas axidi frijoles for my journey." 

" Senor,"he replied, awaking at my repeated demand, "here 
we have absolutely nothing to eat. It is a time of terrible 
scarcity. I fear we must all flee into the valleys below to pre- 
vent starvation." 

"But," said I, pointing to some strips of beef dried and 
blackened in the weather, and depending from a pole stretched 
between two crotched sticks, "here is some dried beef. Will 
you not sell a morsel ?" 

"It is impossible," returned the alcalde; "we should starve 
ourselves. You had best make haste toward Camparaento, 
where I believe there is a little corn and beans." I had just 
returned from this unsuccessful attempt when the peddler ar- 
rived, and the senora rewarded my generosity as above stated. 

We rode out of the place, and half an hour brought us once 
more into the lonely passes of the Cordillera. The sun, al- 
ready above the woods, shone full upon the tasseled banners of 
gray moss depending from the branches. The trunks of the 
trees, coated with silver lichens, gleamed amid the sober foliage, 
or twisted themselves into fantastic shapes to avoid the rocks 
rising like ruined castles among them. A great stillness, as if 
unbroken for ages, lay heavily upon the heights above. We 
passed reverently through these impressive solitudes, and the 
eye rested complacently upon diminutive upland flowers peep- 
ing from the carpet of damp leaves that strewed the ground, or 
glanced upward, attracted by the flight of the mountain hawk, 
disturbed in his solitary domain, swooping away with harsh 
cries to settle on some distant eliflf. 

I do not believe that any description can convey a complete 
idea of the invigorating influence of the fresh morning air of 
these uplands. The effect is particularly noticeable after a 
night's rain, which here does not destroy the road, except in the 
few valleys, and the traveler is thus enabled to enjoy as he 
rides. It is a positive blessing to breathe. The air goes into 
the lungs like the passage of pure cold water, but the effect 

R 



258 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

through the system is like that of laughing-gas. After ten 
o'clock the heat becomes greater, and for an hour before and aft- 
er midday it is always desirable to seek the shelter of some 
thick grove or jutting cliff. 

To the northwest of our course, a ridge, known as the Mbn- 
tahas de Golan, or the " Beautiful Mountains," stretched along 
the horizon with a sharpness of outline and an intensity of in- 
digo blue that kept my eyes riveted upon them in silent admi- 
ration whenever an opening in the trees or a rise in the path 
permitted. The whole range, sparkling with the last night's 
rain, and laughing with sunlight, seemed more like some fancy 
creation of an artist's pencil than reality. Right out of their 
centre sprang the cone of Guaymaca, evidently a defunct volca- 
no, judging from its pyramidal shape, and the top broken off 
by some convulsion of olden times, and now resembling the 
broken crest of some sugar-loaf carelessly knocked off an inch 
or two below its apex. Rumblings and mutterings are report- 
ed to be heard from that region every few years, and the Guay- 
macans have traditions of ^'■•mucho humo fuego y cenizai'' vom- 
ited forth by the mountain, but these are scarcely reliable. 
The peak rises about 2000 feet over the plain, and some 4000 
above the level of the sea. The Galan Mountains are a contin- 
uation of a chain running to the northeast, and forming a great" 
curve some twenty miles to the northward of Guaymaca. This 
range is known as the Ifontanas del Salto, or jumjping-off place, 
from the fact that from their crest commences the descent to- 
ward the great coast savannas of the Caribbean Sea. These 
are actually divided into two chains, the most easterly one be- 
ing that of the Campamento range, where commence the territo- 
ries of the great Zelaya family, descendants of the pioneer set- 
tler of Olancho, who in the seventeenth century entered these 
wild solitudes with his stout retainers, under special grant of 
the Spanish crown, conquered the Indians, introduced the first 
cattle, and discovered the auriferous nature of the soil. 

At noon we reached two grass-thatched huts, known as el 
Rancho, and erected at government expense for the benefit of 
benighted travelers ; and a league farther on we pulled up at a 
wretched hamlet called Salto. The inhabitants, as far as I 
could judge, consisted of a bedraggled rooster and two hens, 



SOURCES OF THE GUAYAPE. 259 

several pigs, lean and vicious, two or three completely naked 
children, who ran behind the nearest hut as we dismounted, and 
an old woman. We commenced the usual preliminaries of bar- 
tering for a few plantains or eggs, but the old beldame tremu- 
lously repeated the usual " no hay!" casting at the same time a 
glance of apprehension at her little stock of poultry and pork. 
This was the most utterly wretched place I ever beheld. 

To my inquiry as to where the rest of the villagers were, she 
replied that some had been "caught" for soldiers, others dead, 
and the rest gone into Olancho for viveres. Tossing her a hand- 
ful of copper coin, for which she ejaculated "God preserve you, 
sir!" we pursued our course, and descending a path, the rug- 
ged steps of which it would be difficult to describe, came upon 
the waters of the Bio Rodondo, which flows to the northeast, 
and, struggling through a gorge some leagues to the eastward, 
joins its bright waters with another of equal dimensions, and 
discharges by a series of cascades into the Guayape. These 
take their rise in the Salto and Campamento mountains. 

I shall not soon forget my sensations on first seeing this 
noisy little affluent of the famous river I had so long desired to 
behold. The heat had now become oppressive, and, ordering a 
general halt, I dismounted to bathe in its inviting waters. This 
done, we inaugurated the first tangible evidence of the Guayape 
by a pull at the hotella de aguardiente all around. 

An American flag brought from California I had presented to 

my friend Don Mariano at Chinandega, and the Seiiora , 

of Tegucigalpa, had replaced it with a specimen of her own man- 
ufacture. The red and blue were sewed into a groundwork of 
white drilling, and the stars as regularly placed as the most 
patriotic American could desire. 

E-oberto dragged it out of the alforjas., and shouted 

'^Yiva/ la bandera Americana T as he flung its crumpled 
folds to the breeze. 

"Well," thought I, as the gaudy affair wriggled in the wind, 
" in the rush of events, who knows but that flag may yet wave 
over the broad valleys of Central America ?" 

Prophetic thought! even as I mused, the contracts of my com- 
panion, who had remained in Nicaragua, were en route for Cal- 
ifornia, to invite the Anglo-Saxon element into the intestine 



260 



EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 



wars of that unhappy republic. From Byron Cole's parchment, 
what a chain of political events have grown ! The " VivaP'' of 
Koberto was, beyond cavil, the first scream of Young America 
in his new tropical cradle. 

After crossing the Sio Rodondo we again ascended some 
1500 feet, and opened an extensive plat of table-land gradually 
sloping to the northeast. We were now in Olancho. The Sal- 
to range forms the boundary-line separating that Department 
from the rest of Honduras. Following the track, which, from 
the recent infrequency of travel, was now nearly obliterated, we 
found ourselves going parallel with a stream, winding at last 
through a deep wood, and into a small valley or plain surround- 
ed by hills, in the centre of which stood the village of Cam- 
pamento. The elevation of this place is 2500 feet above the 



sea. 




VILLAGE OF CAMPAMENTO. 



We dismounted at the door of the largest hut. The propri- 
etress, rejoicing in the name of Seiiora Maria de Santa Cruz 
(Mary of the Holy Cross!), appeared on the instant, and asked 
us to alight in the name of God. Such an unexpected recep- 
tion augured an abundance of tortillas and other eatables, and 
in a few minutes our mules were unloaded and ourselves dis- 
cussing the provisions set before us by the landlady. 



THE GOLD REGION. 261 

The population of Campamento, consisting of a mixture of 
negroes and Indians, about 200 in number, reside within the 
legal estates of the Zelaja family, but are, of course, under no 
authority other than that of the supreme government of Hon- 
duras. I soon found, however, that they regarded los Zelayas 
as the local sovereigns of all that section of country, being main- 
ly dependent upon them for clothes and the ordinary articles of 
life, and recognizing '■'■el General Don Chico,'''' as they affection- 
ately styled Don Francisco, for their "father" and '•'■ patron.'''' 

The Seiiora Santa Cruz informed me that the stream we had 
been following during the afternoon was sometimes called the 
Rio Concordia, emptying into the Guayape; that '■'■mucho oro''"' 
was taken out on its banks, and that, on the following morning, 
she would show me a locality where some lavaderas were now 
at work. With this promise I contented myself, and turned 
into my hammock, slung, as usual, from the rafters. Unable 
to sleep, I looked forth, and observed the landscape fade away 

as darkness shut out the mountain heights around. L 

was completely "used up," and could only answer to my re- 
marks with a feeble murmur, showing his desire to sleep. For 
myself, I was full of excitement. I had passed nearly all day 
through a region which some years of mining experience in Cal- 
ifornia taught me to believe was gold bearing. I had made 
careful observations upon the character of the rocks and the 
nature of the soil. 

Auriferous quartz veins are of frequent occurrence in other 
parts of Central America as well as in Olancho, but in no other 
portion of the continent, excepting California and Oregon, have 
there been discovered placer diggings superior to those I after- \ 
ward saw in the Guayape region. The rock formations I had 
passed during the day are analogous, but are not identical, with 
those on the Stanislaus and other rivers. The differences in 
soil are accounted for by the denser and richer vegetation of this 
region. I am disposed to regard- the Salto and Campamento 
ranges as of later formation in point of time, and more disturb- 
ed by volcanic interference than those of the Sierra Nevada. 
The summits over which we had passed were composed of a 
porous silicious stone, unfavorable to vegetation ; but in de- 
scending the steeps I had noticed a formation of slate, standing 



262 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

vertically, similar to those often constituting the bed rock on the 
Mokelumne River in California. There were often seen large 
bare places of a species of sandstone, in huge layers and strata, 
but generally broken into pebbles, and mixed together with mill- 
ions of pieces of quartz, the whole forming a disintegrated mass 
like pudding-stone. 

The road often cut directly through these layers ; where a 
stream flowed down the mountains, it had almost always forced 
its way through them, and the bottoms of these rivulets were 
thus paved with variegated pebbles, among which the white 
quartz predominated. The whole eastern slope of this dividing 
range is formed by a mixture of limestone, quartz, and slate. 
In making the descent our mules often slid for yards, their 
hoofs slipping over the polished particles. But my simple in- 
formants very soon assured me that the Guayape was by no 
means the only gold-bearing river in Olancho. Every mount- 
ain tributary, every " gulch" and canon, they said, contained its 
precious deposit. 

In Olancho all was " silencio,'''' as my informants remarked 
in illustrating the political and natural quiet reigning amid the 
solitudes we were passing. 

The mozos built a fire of pitch-pine knots near the door, and 
squatting around it, wrapped in their seraj)es, conversed in low 
tones, smoking corn -husk cigars the while. I dozed fitfully 
through the night, now and then awakening and observing the 
shadows of the men reflected on the wall, and the same low 
hum of their earnest voices. The fire gradually burned out, 
and as darkness fell on the scene, they stretched themselves on 
the ground to sleep, with machetes by their sides, and their 
heavy breathing mingling curiously with the peeping of a brood 
of chickens under wing in the corner. About midnight a herd 
of cattle tramped past, and then all was quiet but the crackling 
of the expiring embers. 

Although I had ridden since morning — a tiresome jaunt 
through the mountain passes — sleep fled from my eyelids. I 
lay wide awake, with a thousand exciting thoughts rambling- 
through my mind: the strange scenery I had passed; the myste- 
rious country, the threshold of which I had already crossed ; the 
gold stories recounted by the men around the fire ; the reflec- 



A SMiVLL EARTHQUAIiE. 263 

tion that, at last, I had reached the goal of my hopes, and that, 
from the rude accounts of the simple natives around me, the 
Guayape, rich as it was represented in the precious metal, was 
by no means the only "gold river" of Olancho — these were 
the thoughts that kept me turning uneasily in my hammock. 
Gradually the ticking of my Avatch mixed itself with the smoth- 
ered notes of the gallinitas, and I fell asleep to dream of Cali- 
fornia and friends far away among its deep gullies and mount- 
ain forests. 

Suddenly a low rumbling, like the discharge of distant artil- 
lery, awoke me. The dog sprang to his feet. As the sound 
was repeated, accompanied by a jarring of my hammock, I re- 
membered that we were in the region of earthquakes, though 
these were almost as rare in Olancho as in the United States. 
Roberto turned lazily over on his hide couch, murmuring " te- 
re^noto,''^ and fell asleep again in a moment. Seeing how un- 
concerned my companions were, I concluded there could be no 
danger, but a moment after the house rocked and trembled to 
its foundation. All hands jumped up at this second shock, 
ejaculating " Dios ! que es este V and the dog emitted a long, 
dismal howl ; but the motion, which seemed a horizontal one, 
was not repeated. The tremblings felt in Honduras at rare in- 
tervals are rather undulations from convulsions taking place in 
the neighboring states. There are no evidences of volcanic erup- 
tions between Tegucigalpa and the sea-coast to the northward. 

A cold fog, more like those of Newfoundland than of tropical 
climates, hung like a pall over mountain and forest as we issued 
from the hut in the morning. I wrapped raj poncho around 

me, and repaired with L to a neighboring hill to sketch the 

village. "Is this your boasted heavenly climate of Olancho ?" 
I asked. He laughed as he buttoned his coat, and remarked, 
" Take care you don't get into one of our sierra hail-squalls be- 
fore you get back!" a remark I was then disposed to dismiss 
with a smile, but which in after experience became a frigid real- 
ity. The thermometer indicated 58° Fahrenheit. 

While our scanty breakfast was preparing, I had collected 
around me a swarthy group of the villagers, and by a few trai- 
gitas of aguardiente, and an encouraging word or two of queries, 
led them into a narration of some of the principal gold localities 



264 



EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 




PLATINAL rs THE CAMPAMENTO MOTINTAINS. 



of the region. One old woman was brought forward who had 
dug in one day eight pounds of gold/ another who had con- 
tributed ybt^r 'pounds of the precious metal toward building the 
church at Jutecalpa. One vociferous brawny fellow dragged 
forward a bright-eyed girl, who had, within a few months, dug 
and sold at Lepaguare a solid piece of gold weighing three 
ounces. Old beldames, with bleared eyes and gray, straggling 
hair, gravely recounted the time-honored legends of the coun- 
try, mingled with musty recollections of their own personal 
strokes of fortune. Some smoked the wild tobacco, or, squatting 
on their hams, gazed with their piercing eyes upon me, turning 
from time to time to each other with some low-muttered remark. 
I hugged my serape close about me, turned toward the piling- 
mountains to the southward, and tried to realize the scene. 
Could it be that these poor creatures, apparently destitute of 
the faculty of invention, were seeking to deceive me in the hope 
of a reward proportioned to the enlargement of their stories ? I 
listened to their strange narrations, and looked into their mean- 
ingless faces, as one suddenly aroused from a dream to the real- 
ity of a scene in the "Arabian Nights." 

L observed my puzzled look. " These," said he, "are 

the gold-diggers. Are you incredulous, senor ?" 



LAS LAVADERAS. 265 

"No," I replied; "their account, if not entirely fabulous, 
which I am not to suppose, must be based upon experience, but 
I shall be glad to see for myself." 

"Wait, then, only till we reach the foot-hills of Olancho." 

I was still curious, however, to avail myself as far as possi- 
ble of the present opportunity, and again addressed the women, 
who appeared indifferent, but not reluctant, to answer my in- 
quiries. I touched disparagingly the coarse rag which partially 
covered her bony shoulders, and asked of one, "Why do you 
not buy, you who dig this gold ?" 

" I am old, senor ; my hands are no longer strong. I go but 
seldom now to the ravines and rivers." 

"The good old colony times are no more," said another, ap- 
parently the oldest of the group. 

" But what has become of the gold you acquired in those 
times ?" 

" Had we not our children to support ?" cried one. 

"The Church!" "The Blessed Virgin!" "The padres!" 
chimed in half a dozen ; and, crossing themselves hurriedly, they 
resumed their smoking with the self-satisfied air of having per- 
formed the highest duty. 

One old beldame, sitting a little apart, turned toward me when 
the rest were silent, and said, with a sly look, "We do not 
show all our gold, senor." 

"And why?" I asked. 

She laughed. " The government would rob us." 

Here was something like the systematic beggary of New 
York. Pressing the matter a little farther, I asked, " Do you 
bury your gold?" 

She took a long whiff, and would say no more. 

" It is useless," said L ; " they will never divulge such 

a secret, unless, indeed, you should perform some wonderful cure 
among their sick. In that case there would be no limit to their 
gratitude. But of one thing, my friend, be certain, we are now 
actually in the gold district of the Guayape." 

I asked L if he himself believed these women. 

"I have lived in Honduras," he replied, "to the age of thir- 
ty years, and I have always heard such accounts of this region, 
but I have never been here until now ; but standing here with 



266 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

you, the purport of whose visit is to throw open these resources 
to your own countrymen, I realize the enthusiasm with which 
my fellow-citizen, the great Morazan, always spoke of Olancho. 
He detested the English, but was always favorable to the en- 
terprises of the Americans and French." 

From what I could learn, I judged that the principal depos- 
its of gold were not in tke sierras, but below, among the foot- 
hills of the Campamento Mountains, to the northeast. Still, as 
the Rio Concordia flowed near by, I persuaded my new acquaint- 
ances to go with me there and wash a few hateas, or wooden 
bowls of sand ; the gold hunting is now mainly confined to 
separating the finer particles from the river sands. 

We walked about half a mile to the stream, and two women 
proceeded to fill their bowls with sand — not taken from the bot- 
tom of pits, or " holes," as in California (where the gold is found 
to work through the superincumbent mass to the bed rock), but 
ignorantly and carelessly scraped up together. In a few min- 
utes the contents had been reduced by the California "pan- 
ning" process to about two spoonfuls of black sand, among which 
I detected the " color," or a few minute specimens of gold, their 
aggregate value probably not over two cents. 

But even these infinitesimal proofs of the wealth concealed in 
the rocky fastnesses around and beyond affected me more deep- 
ly than I could have anticipated. I sat down, and, heedless of 
the swarthy little group around me, indulged in a revery that 
conjured up rainbow-tinted visions, which but twice in my life- 
time I have dared entertain. Busy thought began to people 
those gray heights, and I fancied the surrounding solitudes re- 
echoing the din of sturdy toil and the rattle of machinery. In- 
voluntarily I sprang to my feet, and felt almost disappointed at 
again realizing the presence of the listless creatures about me. 
But this was no time for romance. Returning to the village, 
we mounted our mules, and, amid the hearty '-'■Adios /" of the 
natives, commenced the descent toward the great plateaus or 
table-lands of the valley of the Guayape. 

Every step took us rapidly downward from among the bar-" 
ren, pine-clad mountains through which, for the past week, we 
had made but painful and wearisome progress toward a vale of 
bright- waving verdure, which, contemplated from our elevated 



GLIMPSE OF THE PROMISED LAND. 267 

position, possessed all the charms of rural and quiet beauty. 
We followed the course of the sparkling Guayapita, or little 
Guayape, which we knew emptied into the larger river below. 
Elate with the new and beautiful views ever and anon opening 
toward the eastward, we plunged along, now slipping with the 
rolling stones, or grasping some overhanging branch to retard 
the too rapid descent. The mules, weary as ourselves of the 
inhospitable region we had passed, seemed to gaze wistfully at 
the enchanting prospect, at times stopping abruptly to cull the 
delicate blades of grass which began to border the path, and de- 
liberately leaving the track, despite our impatient shouts and 
unsparing blows. 

A clear blue sky spanned the landscape, to which a balmy 
southerly wind, creeping softly among the trees, imparted just 
enough life to detract from the almost too sleepy stillness of the 
prospect. Knowing that before night we could reach Lepaguare, 
we stopped on several occasions to make sketches of pretty lit- 
tle scenes, and rare and strange trees. Presently we came to 
the banks of a rapid stream, which, taking its rise in the Tiupa- 
cente Mountains toward Yuscaran, flows to the northeast, and 
discharges into the Guayape about twelve leagues from Jute- 
calpa. This we afterward learned was the Almendarez, on the 
head-waters of which some of the largest specimens of pure gold 
ever found in Olancho had been taken out. 

Disposed as I was to reach the goal of my hopes, I could not 
refrain from pausing to procure a sketch of the river. Here we 
first saw the famous cattle of Olancho : fat, sleek creatures they 
were, feeding knee-deep in grass and flowering clover, their lazy 
motions just discernible on the opposite bank, and seen through 
the interstices of the carbon hedge, whose dark, glutinous leaves 
contrasted prettily with the feathery foliage of the palms over- 
looking them beyond. 

The scenery, as we advanced, exceeded any thing I had ever 
seen, both for softness of outline and splendor of coloring. On 
the plain I found myself traversing a prairie, varied with broad 
undulations, and covered with deep grass and flowers. Herds 
of cattle, droves of horses, and the much-prized mules of Olan- 
cho, gave life and variety to every new opening of the view. 
They indicated the source of that primitive wealth and prosper- 



268 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

ity which has given rule and continuance in this rich nook of 
the earth to the aristocratic blood of Spain. At intervals the 
distant but familiar cry of the vaquero, or herdsman, dispelled 
the sense of loneliness attending the traveler in new scenes. 
All around me a blue horizon of mountains, embracing a wide 
landscape breathed on by the afternoon wind, and retiring with 
richest verdure into the hues of autumn, brought vividly to mind 
the scenery of California, where the foot-hills of the sierras de- 
cline westward as do these northward. An ocean of gold and 
green undulating in the purple tints of sunset ! 



CHAPTER XV. 

The Sensitive Plant. — Ferns. — Fleur de Lis. — Bay-trees. — Eio Almendarez. — 
La Lima. — Sio Guayape. — Hacienda de San Juan. — Valley of Lepaguare. — 
An Olancho Cattle Estate. — Lepaguare. — General Zelaya. — Our Keception. — 
An Illumination. — Conversations. — Political Condition of Olancho. — Topog- 
raphy of the Department. — Map-making. — Equestrian Excursions. — The Cli- 
mate. — Popular Bugbears. — A Landscape. — Route to the Guayape. — Aspect 
of the Country. — Valley of the Guayape. — "El Murcielego." — "Las Lavade- 
ras." — Gold Washing. — Old Machinery. — Native Geography. — "LaMaquina." 
— Making a Gold-rocker. — The first Cradle in Olancho. — Rich Diggings. — 
Great Excitement among the Natives. — Evidences of old Mines and Aborig- 
inal Workings. — The Buccaneers. — A Gallop to Barroza. — The five Brothers 
Zelaya. — Writing a History. 

While L was preparing his sketch-book, and Roberto 

and Victor smoking cigarros under the neighboring shade, I 
dismounted to examine some strange vines and bushes with 
leaves, which I at first mistook for a species of fern. A recent 
overflow of the river had buried the stems for some distance 
under the sand, from which, with a vigorous jerk, I attempted 
to exhume tliem. In a moment the entire vine presented a 
spectacle so remarkable that I involuntarily sprang back, half 
alarmed at what I saw. The leaves, which spread out like 
whiskers on each side of the stem, slowly contracted, and fold- 
ed themselves together, as if offended at my rude handling. 

L , who was seated on his mule, turned at my exclamation, 

and, bursting into a laiigh, probably amused at my grotesque 
attitude, shouted, '-'■La^lanta sendtiva T 



THE SENSITIVE PLANT. 269 

The wonder was explained, and I now found, for the first 
time, that the plant was common in all the table and low lands 

of Central America ; but, as L remarked, it was rarely 

seen in such quantities as here. The vines formed complete 
mats and hedges for some distance along the river banks. At 
intervals could be seen the sensitive-tree, standing twelve or 
sixteen feet in height, and resembling the vine in its leaves and 
irritable disposition. I picked up a stick from among the de- 
bris, and dealt the trunk a smart blow, when not only the 
leaves shrunk away, but the lesser twigs inclined visibly to- 
ward the parent stem. 

After remounting I passed through thick mats of the sensi- 
tive vine, forming a kind of layer, extending, crust-like, a foot 
above the ground, through which our mules were continually 
crushing. The ground seemed to squirm with some invisible 
creatures, the crinkling of the hoofs through the mass rather 
adding to the naturalness of the conceit. 

In the denser portion of the woods through which we passed 
appeared the fern, or common brake, of a small species, with 
dark, thickly-studded serrated leaves, almost the veritable fern 
of the North. Growing in tufts, it mingled freely with the 
grass and prickly vines which every where spread themselves 
under the trees. 

Here, too, we saw specimens oithefleur de lis bordering the 
small streams on our route. The flower, I believe, differs little 
from that of Europe and North America. I saw some of them 
at an elevation of more than 1500 feet above the sea. The bay- 
tree, or laurel, was also frequently seen, and here attains a great- 
er height than at the North, reaching sometimes 40 feet. The 
trunk is knotty, and in the woods often shrouded with a thin lay- 
er of moss, but smooth and clean in the open country. The bark, 
Avhich is half an inch thick, is white and soft, and of a corky tex- 
ture, possessing slightly the pungent taste, and affecting the ol- 
factories like sal volatile. The laurel is often used in making- 
axle-trees for caretas, being one of the hardest and most easily- 
worked woods in the country. It also burns brightly. Viewed 
from a short distance, the laurel of Olancho makes a sightly 
tree, as the branches, though irregular, are thickly studded with 
smooth, shining leaves, affording a deep shade, which in Cen- 



270 



EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 



tral America endures the year round. The tree affects damp 
or wet places, where it grows luxuriantly. I saw no flower or 
huds upon them, but have no doubt they are identical with the 
Northern bay-tree. 

The Almendarez is counted among the gold rivers of the De- 
partment, but the large specimens before referred to were found 
high up at its sources. I did not learn that any remarkable 
good luck had attended the lavaderas at or near the place where 
we crossed, which was about two leagues from Campamento. 
Here we missed the trail, and had reached the little hacienda of 
La Lima, owned by one of the Zelayas, when a couple of strap- 







HACIENDA OP LA LIMA. 



ping natives met us, and, understanding that we were visitors of 
"Don Chico," as the general is affectionately termed by the peo- 
ple, very readily directed us to Lepaguare, where their old patron 
was at present residing. We retraced our steps to La Lima, 
and, taking the right path, pursued our journey at a rapid trot 
through scenery already described. After an hour we came out 
upon the broad and placid Guayape itself, flowing silently toward 
the sea, and presenting, even at that far-inland point, the appear- 
ance of a formidable stream, not less than thirty yards wide. 



VALLEY OF LEPAGUARE. 



271 



At this season it is three and a half feet deep at the ford, and 
above this place receives the waters of several small rivers, as 
my map indicates. We entered and crossed, wetting our saddle- 
cloths above the mules' bellies. Flowing through a plain of 
slightly undulating country, there are no rapids in this vicinity. 
The river was exceedingly clear, and the yellow sand forming 
the bottom imparted to the waters a curious but beautiful am- 
ber hue. Its course is to the eastward, forming below this ford 
an extensive semicircle, nearly inclosing the entire Zelaya es- 
tates, and trending thence to the northeast, where, after receiving 
the waters of the Guayambre, a river nearly as large as the 
Guayape, it assumes its coast name of Patook or Patuca. 

From the ford we pursued our route to the northeast, and, 
passing the hacienda of San Juan, also the property of the Ze- 
layas, we entered an extensive plain or valley hemmed in by low 
mountain ranges, and known as the Valley of Lepaguare. It is 
a park of verdure, springing from a deep rich soil, wide enough 
to sustain the population of a commercial and agricultural state. 
To the northward stood the great cattle estate of Lepaguare, 
one of the several belonging to Don Francisco Zelaya, general 
of brigade and " commandante militar" of the Department of 











HACIENDA OF LEPAGUAEE. 



272 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

Olancho, as my letters of introduction to him indicated. The 
hacienda was backed by feathery foHage, but faced an exten- 
sive open space, over which my little cavalcade was advancing. 
The declining sun cast lengthy shadows along the greensward, 
the plain extending miles away, and dotted with countless cattle. 
I had been prepared, from previous accounts, for a scene of rare 
loveliness ; this was the reality. 

Grouped trees stood far removed along the valley; the low-' 
ing of herds was borne faintly on the evening wind ; voices, al- 
most lost in the distance, came from the hacienda ; a few horse- 
men appeared like specks on the plain. We spurred up the 
mules, and Victor shouted with delight ; for myself, I could only 
gaze and admire. A crowd of children, laughing and scream- 
ing, thronged about the gate, but ran hastily away as we ap- 
proached. Wild mares and half-broken mules, fastened by hide 
tethers to logs, snorted and started as we jingled past ; a noble 
black stud, with mane and tail flowing in the breeze, sprang 
away over the soft carpet of grass at the rattle of our spurs ; 
wild-looking cows "blew" at us as we neared them. Crossing 
the jpatio in front of the house, we drew up at the door. The 
hacienda, though the largest and best kept in the country, is not 
an unfair specimen of any of the principal cattle estates of 
Olancho. 

The placid-looking old Indian women engaged about the prem- 
ises gazed curiously at us as we stopped, and a splendidly ca- 
parisoned horse, with silver-mounted Tnachillas, pistoleras, and 
crimson mantillas, sidled proudly away from our shaggy mount- 
ain mules. The door opened, and several men, clad in loose 
cotton pantaloons and shirt, looked out as we dismounted. 

^''Adios, amigosr said L . 

'"'■ Buenos dias, cahalleros P'' replied half a dozen voices. The 
master of the house, the venerable Don Francis Zelaya, then 
appeared, and stepping slowly down, with the peculiar gait of 
portly persons, advanced to meet us, and in another moment had 

grasped L and myself warmly by the hand, and placed his 

house and all in it at our disposition. 

We found in our host a fair type of the descendant of the old 
Spanish hidalgos, a lover of good cheer, jolly company, and fine 
horses. He takes no pride in his hospitality : it is at once a 



DON FRANCISCO ZELAYA. 273 

duty and a pleasure, and the rude accommodations of his resi- 
dence are ever open to the wayfarex-. It may be imagined that, 
with testimonials from the uttermost parts of the earth, even 
California, and bearing letters from the governor and other dig- 
nitaries, to say nothing of those from the President of Honduras 
and Nicaragua, my reception was marked with a cordiality not 
to be forgotten. 

The general's limited knowledge of such matters made it dif- 
ficult for him to mark the geographical or political distinctions 
of foreign lands, and my letters from Governor Bigler, of Cali- 
fornia, he regarded as conferring diplomatic powers upon their 
bearer. To him the Golden State was a separate republic, 
and its executive a democratic emperor, clad in robes of splen- 
dor, and rolling in luxury and gold dust ! 

Senor Don Chico is literally " monarch cSf all he surveys." 
He is tall and handsome, with a portly figure and commanding 
aspect, blue eyes, square forehead, and crisp, curling hair of iron- 
gray. In the affairs of his own country he does not lack sagac- 
ity or knowledge. There are five brothers, whose families, re- 
siding in and occupying by royal grant this portion of Olancho, 
are known far and wide as "los Zelayas." The early settlement 
of the department by their ancestor, Seiior Don Jeronimo Ze- 
laya, and the political position of affairs subsisting in the coun- 
try since its first occupation by the Spaniards, I shall make the 
subject of a future sketch. 

We entered the house, and were presented to the seiiora, who 
arose from a bed of sickness to receive us, and to the only 
daughter of the general, a tall, raven-haired muchacha, who was 
evidently mistress of the mansion. The eldest son, Don To- 
ribio, was on his way from Truxillo with a mule-train loaded 
with cotton goods, the supplying of which to the inhabitants of 
this section the general monopolizes. 

The whole hacienda was speedily in motion with the import- 
ant event of our arrival. Had I been a public embassador 
rather than a private citizen, I could not have been received 
with greater demonstrations of respect. A flank and quarter 
of kid was put to roast for us, a fat bullock slaughtered at tlie 
sacrificial stake, vegetables from the neighboring garden, pickles 
with Underwood's brand, via Truxillo, from Boston, hot coffee,, 

S 



274 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

tortillas, wheaten and corn bread, and wild honey, were among 
the eatables placed upon the table. 

These matters over, my letters of introduction were carefully 
read by the general. As the old gentleman pored over them 

with a gratified air, L and myself noticed his resemblance 

to a distinguished member of the cabinet of President Pierce. 
Don Chico is a great rogue among the women, and the remark- 
able similarity to be traced in the features of several coffee-col- 
ored urchins running about the hacienda led me to suspect that 
they might claim a close relationship to our entertainer. He 
yet enjoys his waltz and cotillon in the funcion at Jutecalpa 
with the youngest and gayest rake in the town. 

Toward night I observed the muchachos of the estate, number- 
ing, I should think, above twenty, bringing in bundles of fagots, 
dried grass, and branches, which they deposited in heaps through- 
out the extensive patio. As darkness fell over the landscape, 
these were covered with pitch-pine logs and lighted. The 
whole hacienda was speedily in a blaze of light. It was an il- 
lumination in honor of Don Guillermo. Simple and rude as 
was the testimonial, I recognized the kindness of Don Francisco, 
and saw in it a forerunner of future hospitality. He seemed 
really delighted that the " silencio" of his life was to be a while 
interrupted by las ultimas noticias from the outer world. 

He seemed to take peculiar interest in x(\j accounts of the 
progress of California, asking the most minute questions as to 
the methods of working the mines, the mineral laws, govern- 
ment, climate, and people. 

" Ah ! my friend," said he, " God grant that some of the 
hardy and intelligent men you describe may visit this lonely 
spot, and show us how to extract the gold which, in our igno- 
rance, we are daily walking over!" Such a remark, coming 
from the principal man of the department, was to me a conclu- 
sive evidence of his desire to introduce industrious Americans 
into Olancho for the development of the gold placers. The in- 
fluence of the Zelayas is all that is necessary for the accom- 
plishment of my project, and I addressed myself at once to se- 
curing his co-operation and assistance. 

Although Olancho is an integral part of the republic of Hon- 
duras, its geographical position is such as to have partially ex- 



A MODEL EEPUBLIC. 275 

eluded it from a partieipation in the wars since the independ- 
ence. Its distinct interests and secluded situation have led the 
people to avoid as much as possible any but a very limited po- 
Utical contact with the supreme government, a course which has 
more than once led to hostilities between Olancho and the rest 
of the republic. These contests, never very severe or bloody, 
besides resulting favorably to the Olanchanos, have disclosed 
to them their ability to repel attack, and their real independ- 
ence of the supreme government. The proposition has repeat- 
edly been made to form a separate republic ; but with the yield- 
ing of the government to their demands, and a promise not to 
attempt the levying of taxes or conscriptions for soldiers in 
Olancho, the people, at best too indolent and easy in their hab- 
its to attempt a revolution, have acquiesced in the old estab- 
lished government. 

Thus, while General Zelaya is the governor of the depart- 
ment by supreme appointment, he is actually at the head of a 
local democracy, placed there by the spontaneous will of the 
natives, and from which, were it bold enough to conceive such 
a proceeding, the supreme power would scarcely venture to re- 
move him. The government is thus a very compact and well- 
established despotism — a little republic within a republic, with 
a few forms of election to gratify the middle classes or depend- 
ents upon the great landholders. 

This middle class, especially in the vicinity and south of 
Jutecalpa, consists chiefly of the relatives of the Zelayas by de- 
scent or intermarriage, a large and powerful family, owning es- 
tates comprising some of the most valuable mineral and agri- 
cultural lands in Olancho, and, in the aggregate, overshadowing 
all other landholders in the country. A glance at the map will 
illustrate the extent of territory covered by their grants, in 
which are contained gold placers rivaling those of California, 
and producing spontaneously many of the most valuable trop- 
ical products. 

The formation of a contract between the proprietors of these 
rich mineral lands and an association of intelligent Americans 
should seem to result in throwing open the mines to capital and 
labor, and the mutual benefit of all. 

To my surprise, the general listened to my proposals with 



276 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

pleasure, but declined entering at once into negotiations. He 
wished me first to ride with him and his vaqueros over the coun- 
try, and become familiar with its features and resources. Ac- 
cordingly, I bent myself to the task of surveying, map-making, 
collecting information, and journeying at intervals from Jute- 
calpa, the capital, toward the numerous localities more or less 
famous in its vicinity, and toward the great coast savannas. 

My chief object after my coveted contract was to obtain a 
correct map of a country the topography of which has remained 
unknown, and which desperate map-makers have filled with 
mountains, towns, and rivers having no existence, not even in 
their own imagination^, but placed ad libituTn to fill unsightly 
blanks and nameless regions. With this view, before my de- 
parture from California I had prepared from the Admiralty charts 
a correct outline of the coast from the Guatemalan line to Costa 
Rica, leaving the unknown interior for my future explorations. 

It was my custom in all parts of Olancho to spread this upon 
the rude table, and, with dividers and pocket compass in hand, to 
inquire of the old natives the direction and distance of certain 
places. These were noted in pencil, and altered to meet the 
opinions of the interested crowd, whom I allowed to dispute and 
contradict each other as to distance and course, silently treas- 
aring every word, and gradually filling my map. This I al- 
ways had with me in a circular tin case. The oldest residents, 
many of whom had never been out of Olancho, knew with great 
accuracy the names of every town, hacienda, and mountain range 
in the department ; and by altering, erasing, comparing, and 
adroit questioning, I was enabled in a few months to obtain a 
pretty correct map of the gold region. Of course, it was neces- 
sary to make every allowance for inaccuracy in distances, one 
man's mile being another's league in Olancho ; but by carefully 
noting the positions from all parts of the country of prominent 
peaks, such as those of Tiupacente, Monte Rosa, Aguacate, El 
Boqueron, and Guaymaca, all far removed from each other, and 
lofty landmarks every where visible, I could compare the va- 
rious bearings, and correct with some degree of certainty the er- 
rors consequent upon so rough a reconnaissance. I, moreover, 
traveled " note-book in hand," and allowed nothing worthy of 
note to escape me. 



CLI^LA.TE AND SCENERY. 277 

My first visit with the general to any mining locahty was to 
the "bar" on the Guayape, a few leagues south of Lepaguare, 
and known as El Murcielago, or the Bat. My kind friend, al- 
ways alive to my comfort, ordered to be saddled for me a fine 
Guatemalan horse, his own pet, and, discarding my hard mount- 
ain albardo, replaced it with a luxurious Mexican saddle. L 

and a favorite vaquero, by name Julio, completed the party of 
four. The morning was actually cold, though the blue vault 
overhead looked mild and soft as an Italian sky. The general 
insisted on my testing the quality of some aguardiente upon 
which he rather prided himself. It had come from Tegucigalpa. 
We cantered merrily over the plain of Lepaguare, where the 
brisk air and wide expanse of grassy undulations set our hearts 
in tune with the exhilarating influence of the hour. 

Let no geographer with indefinite ideas of the "terrible trop- 
ics" select the table districts of Olancho for the theme of his 
anathemas against pestilential climates. Nothing is more ab- 
surd, or farther from truth, than our popular dread of these un- 
known "regions of the tropics." The sandy horrors of Sahara 
or the Colorado are not here. Here the sun neither kills the 
wanderer nor parches up his blood ; the earth is warm, but not 
infectious. Throughout all the new countries of our Western 
States a local unhealthiness is prevalent, and hard to be resist- 
ed, but scarcely any fevers prevail in the interior of Honduras. 
The bilious fevers so often fatal to strangers are confined to the 
low, damp lands of the coast. 

The summer or wet season is by no means, as many suppose, 
a continued fall of rains. A succession of quick showers and 
thunder-storms, with intervals of brilliant sunshine, make up the 
season. The rain wiU fall all night in torrents, with lightning, 
thunder, and wind — alarming, but not destroying — swelling the 
rivers and their muddy mountain affluents, which again subside 
to their natural limits as the sun bursts forth through the clouds 
of morning over a landscape richly and tenderly diversified with 
green and gold. A warm air charms the sense ; the eyes are 
pleased, but not dazzled with gorgeous tints reflected by the glit- 
tering moisture, and the curtain- work of silver and purple clouds, 
fading gradually as the day advances, makes these lovely picturef^ 
seem near and more familiar to the beholder. Says the proverb, 



278 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

' ' Olancho, ancho para entrar angosto para salir /" " Olanclio, 
easy to enter but hard to leave." Have not these dehcious 
scenes given rise to the saying ? 

As I remember how, wearied with the gray, sober mantle with 
which Nature clothes herself in the lonely mountains on the route 
to Tegucigalpa, we eagerly precipitated ourselves toward the 
glowing landscape spread invitingly below, so, vividly do I recall 
the time, months afterward, when, turning many a fond, linger- 
ing look back, I reluctantly shut out from view — perhaps for- 
ever — the peaceful valley of Lepaguare. 

We passed, on our route to the Murcielago, the haciendas of 
Don Jose Manuel Zelaya, the oldest of the brothers, and also 
that of Don Carlos Zelaya, a married son of the general. Here 
we met several well-mounted vaqueros, herding a number of 
horses and mules. There is a level cart-road the entire dis- 
tance from Lepaguare to the foot of the range of hills forming 
the valley through which the Guayape flows. From here the 
road becomes a very good mule-path, over which any class of 
machinery can be packed or even carted with slight improve- 
ment to the Murcielago. The route was through forests of 
pines, some of them three feet in diameter. These are of the 
yellow and white varieties. 

During this trip I noticed, for the hundredth time, the regu- 
larity which gives these hills their unequaled grace of form. 
The line of beauty, as in the rounded foot-hills of the California 
gold regions, was here so perceptible that I repeated the remark 
at every new prospect. Wood-crowned and even, an almost in- 
sensible gradation, range beyond range, west, north, and south 
rises an amphitheatre of grassy elevations, aspiring hills, lofty 
ranges, and, farther still, peaks of such a blueness they seemed 
solid ether, as though the liquid atmosphere had been mixed 
with light and crystallized in airy glaciers. 

The pine growth, skirting the hiUs far as the eye could reach, 
seemed well adapted to milling purposes. As we passed among 
them, the wind roared grandly among their tops, and brought 
vividly to mind similar scenes in California ; but the pines of 
the uplands are not comparable in size with those of the North, 
though the gigantic cedars of the lower country are the wonder 
even of the natives themselves. 



THE ROUTE TO THE GUAYAPE. 279 

Some small tributary of the Quehrada de Garcia was pointed 
out to me on our road, where several women had washed the 
sands with considerable success. Plere the country began to 
break up into canons and gulches, like those around the vicinity 
of Grass Valley and French Corral in California. At the bot- 
tom of these places appeared slate and quartz formations, among 
which we noticed where the gold-seekers had scratched, leaving 
marks resembling those made by some industrious barn-yard 
fowl rather than the sturdy marks of mining labor. No digging 
of any account has ever been done here, and the gold is mostly 
of that description easily washed away by any heavy flow of 
water. The general promised to return here with a few lavade- 
ras, and have the ground properly worked under ray directions. 

After passing a great number of California-looking gulches 
and streams, all known to be auriferous, we came upon a superb 
pine-clad hill, overlooking the valley of the Guayape, which we 
heard roaring below, but as yet hidden from view by the dense 
belt of foliage lining its course. This was about five leagues, by 
the vueltas del rio, below the place where I had crossed it on 
first entering Olancho. 

We pushed impatiently along, the Don explaining and talk- 
ing all the way. We followed the ridge to the southward, seek- 
ing a cleared space through which to descend. From our posi- 
tion I noted the bearing and apparent distance of the principal 
mountain peaks within thirty leagues. The path gradually 
sloped out into a pretty little plain about twenty feet above the 
river, and known as the Murcielago. Here is a hut belonging 
to Don Chico, and here it had been proposed by Senor Cacho 
to erect a small mining town, under the auspices of a native 
company, which was afterward broken up by some one of the 
revolutions. The place was now a mere ruin of adobes and 
branches. A number of squash and pumpkin vines, the fruit 
still visible among the old rafters and rank grass, clambered 
around tlie place. A herd of cattle stood lazily browsing in the 
shade, and, with the audible roaring of the river and the fresh- 
ness of the foliage, reminded me of a summer New England 
scene. From here we scrambled down to the river, which open- 
ed as we descended from amid a grove of fragrant pines, their 
sombre shadows cast full upon the waters below. 



280 



EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDURAS. 




MnKOIELAGO BAH. 



The echo of voices among the rocks farther up the river in- 
dicated the presence of lavaderas, although this is not the most 
favorable season for their labors. We followed the bank for a 
few hundred yards, and at last came upon a party of women 
gold-seekers, splashing about in the water, laughing boisterously 
over their labor, some singing, and others smoking the indispens- 
able cigarro. They were standing knee-deep, and each bending 
over the customary large circular bowl or hatea, in which the pre- 
cious metal was being washed out. They worked slowly and 
with no intelligence, stopping at every moment to chat over the 
topics of their little world, and performing perhaps one third as 
much labor as an American miner. An offer from the general, 
backed by myself, to buy all the gold they could wash on that 
day and the next, did not seem to quicken their operations. 

The women obtain a permission of the Zelayas before they 
can work the placers ; this formality, which they scrupulously 
exact, is owing to the family jealousy of their ancient posses- 
sions, and the fear that any infringement upon them might event- 
ually lead to the "squatting" of unprincipled persons upon their 
territories. Any such interlopers, it is true, could be speedily 
ejected, but the general, not unwisely, enforced the proverb, "An 



LAS LAVADERAS. 281 

ounce of prevention," &c. Any women found washing gold 
without permission were invariably expelled, and never there- 
after allowed to work on the estates. These summary proceed- 
ings have given rise to a statement among the enemies of los 
Zelayas that they have forced the lavaderas to pay as tribute a 
portion of their earnings, which is untrue. 

An immense fat, good-natured Indian woman whispered an 
inquiry to Julio as to who the strangers were, to which he re- 
plied that I was intending to buy the entire Zelaya posses- 
sions, and had come from California to view the gold washings. 
They had all heard of the famous land of gold, and I easily 
drew them into conversation on the subject. At my request 
they continued their labors, from which, as we approached, they 
had straightened themselves up, and, throwing their coarse hair 
back from their faces, shouted, "Buenos dias, Don Francisco!" 
the general replying gayly to them from his huge Mexican 
saddle, and with a peculiar smile, which made me suspect he 
was a particular favorite with them. The operation of washing, 
or "panning," is precisely similar to that witnessed among the 
Chilenos and Sonorenos, who in the early days flocked from 
Spanish America into California. In several of the hateas there 
remained not a particle of gold, or if any there were, in such mi- 
nute specks as to be invisible; in others there might be from 
two to three cents, and in a very few perhaps double that amount. 
The particles were not scale-like, but round and irregular, aver- 
aging the size of a pin-head, and polished by attrition. One 
piece was taken out worth above half a dollar.* 

* Oviedo's account of the lavaderas in Veragua is thus quaintly translated in 
Richard Eden's English version of that historian, published in London in 1577 : 
" These washers, for the most parte, are the Indian women, because this woorke 
is of lesse paine and travayle than any other. These women, when they washe, 
are accustomed to syt by the water syde, with theyr legges in the water even 
up to the knees, or l&sse, as the place serveth theyr purpose ; and thus holdyng 
the trays with earth in theyr handes by ye handles thereof, and puttyng the 
same into the water, they move them rounde about after the maner of syft- 
yng, with a certayne aptnesse, in such sort that there entreth no more water into 
the trays than serveth theyr turne ; and with the selfe-same apte movyng of 
theyr trays in the water, they ever avoyde the foule water with the earth out of 
the one side of the vessell, and receyve in cleane water on the other syde there- 
of; so that by this meanes, by litle and litle, the water washeth the earth, as the 
lyghter substaunce of the trays, and the golde, as the heavyer matter, resteth in 
the bottome of the same, beyng rounde and holowe in the myddell like unto a 



282 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

The river at this season was not at the most favorable stage 
for washing. At extreme low water, pieces weighing five and 
even eight ounces have heen taken from the Ibed at this point. 
I afterward purchased in Jutecalpa pieces weighing about an 
ounce, which I took with me to California. These I procured 
of the tienderos or shop-keepers, who had received them in trade 
from the women. Thej had no reason to deceive me as to the 
locality from which these chispas were obtained, and always 
represented them as coming from the Guayape and its tributa- 
ries, but especially from the foot-hills of the Campamento range 
to the Almacigueras, a locality famous throughout Olancho as 
the richest in the department. 

I inquired of the general if any machinery had ever yet been 
introduced into Olancho. "No," he replied, "with the excep- 
tion of a box of it which has been at my hacienda these ten 
years, brought there by the agent of Senor Wellaes, from Gua- 
temala, who once entered into a contract with me to take hold 
of these mines 'with a will.' The machinery was constructed 
in Boston to order, shipped to Truxillo, and brought thence over 
the mountains here ; but the directions were in English, which 
I could not read. Senor Wellaes died, some pieces of iron were 
lost, and I confess that I have not thought about it since." 
This bit of information surprised me, and I resolved to examine 
the raaquina on my return. I had seen enough already to con- 
vince me that in Olancho there is another California, but that, 
like that country, the glittering treasures of the soil must re- 
main as they have been since the creation until a race superior 
in energy and activity succeed to the inheritance. 

I also saw that no estimate could ever be formed of the mines 
under the present crude system of working them, and that some 
machinery, even were it the discarded cradle of California's ear- 
ly days, would be necessary to make any reliable experiments. 
With this view, I determined to construct a rocker on my re- 
turn to the hacienda, could tools and materials be obtained, 
which was extremely doubtful, and in the event of a failure at 
such rude mechanism, to see what could be done with the ma- 
quina of the above-mentioned Guatemalan adventurer. 
barbar's basen. And when all the earth is avoyded, and the golde geathered 
togeather in the bottome of the tray, they put it aparte, and returne to take more 
earth, whiche they washe contynually as before." 



THE MURCIELAGO BAR. 283 

We remained some hours at the Murciehago, examining and 
consulting upon its advantages as the site for a future mining- 
village similar to that of Aleraan. A comfortable repast and 
smoke under the trees doubtless added to the zest with which 
we viewed the rare scenery around. Our dinner was taken at 
a point some five hundred yards above the adobe hut, where 
the beach is approached between causeways of black rock 
dwindling down toward the water's edge, and spreading out into 
a smooth beach, where the tiny surf created by the current spark- 
led in rims of silver, breaking among the grass that carpeted it 
quite to the river's brink. The Guayape is here deep and si- 
lent, though rapid, heavy trees standing at intervals along the 
banks; islands of rocks and bushes close "in-shore" on both 
sides ; layers of slate and sandstone slanting into the stream ; 
the rays of the western sun shedding golden streaks across the 
water, and small patches of sunlit woods, interspersed with so- 
ber pines, relieving the background. All was still as " a thou- 
sand years ago." 

The general course of the river is here to the N.N.E. Julio, 
who had lived in the vicinity above thirty years, gave me the 
distance by bends of the river from Las Marias to Catacamas. 
He was familiar with it, having often passed the entire distance 
in canoes. I took down his figures with an air of great inter- 
est, and was afterward amused with finding that the aggregate 
of Julio's leagues would take me beyond the mouth of the Pa-" 
took, far into the Caribbean Sea ! I mention this fact, which 
is a fair sample of the accuracy of the natives in matters of dis- 
tance, to illustrate the difficulty of forming a map with the data 
of the inhabitants for a guide. The explorer must rely entire- 
ly upon his own observations. As I have said above, a good 
wagon road can be easily constructed from the Murcielago, as 
well as from numerous other rich localities on the Guayape, to 
Lepaguare, from which point a coach and six could be driven 
through Jutecalpa as it now is, and many miles below it ; but 
the topography, as well as the climate, population, history, and 
natural products of Olancho, although treated as occasion seem- 
ed to require through these pages, I have more particularly re- 
ferred to in chapters dedicated to those subjects. 

The sun was far in the western horizon when we turned our 



284 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

horses toward Lepaguare, and, after a slow ride in the darkness 
over a country apparently familiar to my companions, but to me 
a confused tumble of hUls and forests, we observed the distant 
lights of the hacienda. As we approached, we heard the jingle 
of spurs and tramping of horses' hoofs ; these, and the frequent- 
ly-passing forms between us and the great brushwood fire burn- 
ing in the j>atio, showed that some unusual commotion was tak- 
ing place. Don Chico spurred to the spot, where were several 
mounted vaqueros preparing to go in search of their master, 
who, they thought, might have been lost in the woods. At his 
appearance all dismounted, and the hacienda subsided into its 
wonted quiet. 

On the following morning, after breakfast, I intimated to the 
general my desire to see the machine he had mentioned. Call- 
ing to some of the lounging fellows usually loafing about the 
door, he ordered to be dragged from its hiding-place an old box, 
nearly the size of a common piano. It was covered with cob- 
webs, and its cracks swarmed with cockroaches and nondescripts 
with "eleven legs and no heads," who hastened out of sight as 
their habitation was thus rudely disturbed. 

One of the men pried off the top, and revealed to my expect- 
ant gaze an intricate mass of wheels, sieves, rollers, strainers, 
grooved bits of wood, and cylinders, enough to puzzle the in- 
ventive genius of any but a practiced machinist to put together. 

The whole household crowded silently around, eagerly watch- 
ing my face, whispering at intervals to each other, and doubt- 
less admiring the wise look which, for the occasion, I was 
forced to assume. In vain I placed the pieces together, ar- 
ranged, puUed apart, and readjusted. I might as well have un- 
dertaken to make a chronometer ; but, as my reputation was at 
stake, I took care to conceal my defeat, and, shaking my head 
depreciatingly, ordered the boys to replace the machinery, as to- 
tally inapplicable to gold-washing. The general looked sadly 
disappointed, and wondered how Senor Wellaes could ever have 
ordered such a jumble of useless puzzle to wash gold with. 
But, although my mechanical knowledge was not equal to the 
maquina of the Guatemalteco, I found in the box what I had 
in vain looked for about the hacienda, boards and nails enough 
for the construction of a rocker a la California. 



A MODEL GOLD MACHINE. 285 

The machine above-mentioned, I saw, was one of the num- 
berless nameless affairs emanating from the brains of inventors 
ignorant of the requirements of mining apparatus. California, 
in the early days, was full of them. There seemed to be noth- 
ing within the range of possibility or probability which the me- 
chanics of the Eastern States and England did not send to Cali- 
fornia. The mule-paths to the more distant mining localities 
are yet strewed with them. The cobweb of wheels and rollers 
at Lepaguare was intended as a sand-sifter, and was apparently 
as inapplicable to the separating of the precious particles from 
the earth as a patent churn or tlu*eshing-machine would be. 
Dear-bought experience has at last taught the Californians that 
the great desideratum in mining machinery for placer-washing, 
sluicing, or quartz-crushing, is simplicity. The same system 
introduced into Olancho can not fail to make available the glit- 
tering treasures stored in its soil, rocks, and river beds. 

The general placed the contents of the box at my disposal, 
and I commenced putting together a rude machine, such as was 
used in the primitive days of California. A trough, roughly 
hewed out of a nispero-tree, serving as a feeding-dish for young 
colts, I took as the body for the rocker. This I hewed down 
from its unwieldy proportions, and the maquina of Senor Wel- 
laes furnished the sifter. As the uncouth affair gradually as- 
sumed shape and meaning under my hands, the puzzled looks 
of the silent crowd yielded to those of wonder and simple de- 
hght. The women particularly praised my skill, and wondered 
that a caballero could also handle the saw and hatchet. Before 
night my bantling was completed, and, after chiseling in huge 
letters, "EOCKER NO. L, OLANCHO, 1854," with my initials below, 
we bore the thing down to the brook near the hacienda, and 
commenced an experimental washing. The bed-pieces were 
placed, and some of the children of the estate flew, at the gen- 
eral's command, to carry water and sand. This stream is not 
gold-bearing, and half an hour's labor produced no sign of gold, 
but the modus ojperandi was explained by the operation. 

" Caramba .^" exclaimed the delighted old man ; "how won- 
derful ! we shall get gold by the pound ! " 

I smiled at his enthusiasm, and reminded him that this was 
only a primitive method, now nearly discarded throughout Cal- 



286 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

ifornia, having given place to a gigantic system of mining, by 
which entire hills melted away before the industry of the Amer- 
icans, washing tons of earth where five years ago they washed 
panfuls ! My audience listened in silence, and the general re- 
marked, 

"Ah! Don Guillermo, your countrymen are, beyond doubt, 
destined to rule the world ; such progress in the useful arts is 
astonishing, and none of the old races can ever hope to compete 
with you. I only fear that your friends may not credit the sto- 
ries you will one day recount of Olancho, and that the enterpris- 
ing men of d Norte may refuse to visit us. If you never re- 
turn with your great company, I shall feel that my dear Olancho 
will never become known to the world." 

I assured the kind-hearted old man that many years would 
not elapse before the Americans would visit the country. 

We left the machine to swell in the water, and on the follow- 
ing morning at dawn, a train of mules, carrying the rocker, pro- 
visions, and implements, started for a point near the Murcielago, 
we remaining for breakfast, and expecting to overtake them be- 
fore they reached the bar. On our route we conversed upon the 
numerous gold localities of the country. The general agreed 
with me that not a hundredth part of the richest deposits had 
yet been discovered, and that "prospecting" would gradually 
develop them. Arrived at the bar, we found the cradle depos- 
ited after my instructions carefully on the bank, and the na- 
tives, in their usual costume of a shirt, cotton trowsers, and sash, 
stretched half asleep under the trees. In a few minutes the 
machine was placed and the operations commenced. For half 
an hour the men brought large bowls of earth from a spot indi- 
cated by a lavadera who accompanied us. Julio rocked, Victor 
poured on the water, the general berated or threatened them as 
his excited feelings dictated, all chatted, disputed, and watched 
my every motion, while I, barefooted and with pantaloons rolled 
up, splashed about in the river, ever and anon peeping into the 
machine to find some indication of gold. Once or twice only I 
observed a minute speck glittering on the bottom, and I was 
just giving vent to my disappointment, when I discovered that 
the careful Victor had pulled out the plug, and that through the 
hole had escaped whatever treasure might thus far have been 



GOLD-WASHING ON THE GUAYAPE. 



287 




FIEST EOCKEE IN HONDtlEAS. 



collected. The general stamped and scolded while the aperture 
was being closed, and after half an hour's labor I ordered anoth- 
er inspection. ' Along the lower riffle I observed a few cJiispas 
sparkling among the black metallic sand. The plug was now 
pulled out, and the lavadera, placing her bowl below, caught the 
contents of the rocker as it was carefully washed down. This 
she reduced by the rotary process already described, and as we 
bent over her I could not repress an exclamation of delight at 
seeing thfi little hollow space at the bottom yellow with the 
golden particles. I estimated their value at a trifle below a 
dollar and fifty cents. 

Don Chico was altogether too excited to utter any thing be- 
yond ejaculations. A smile of triumph which he observed on 
my face made him step toward me and grasp my hand, while 
the natives gazed alternately upon me and my rocker with si- 
lent wonder. 

"Wait, my dear general," I said, "until we introduce the 
*' hydraulic mining" now used in California into these mines, 
and instead of panfuls of earth you will see the very hills disap- 
pearing, from which every particle of gold will be saved by means 
of quicksilver ; and in the place of half a quillful of dust for a 
day's labor you will estimate the product by pounds.' 



288 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

The experiment decided me, and I resolved never to leave 
Olancho until I had entered into a contract with the general for 
the introduction of American capital and labor into the country. 
It should he home in mind that the earth used on this occasion 
was not taken from the bottom of excavations near the "ledge 
rock," as in California, to which place, in the lapse of centuries, 
the heavy metal is known to work its way, but from near the 
surface, where a California miner would scarcely look for gold 
except by the newly-discovered process of " ground sluicing." 
The general led me to a shallow excavation on the upper level 
of the bar, which by the river is only reached during a freshet, 
where, at twenty feet above low water, the lavaderas took out 
several pounds of gold in six days' washing. This was at a 
time when a large sum was required for the building of the new 
church at Jutecalpa, the women contributing by labor as well 
as gold to its construction. 

Our conversation now turned upon the tiempos antiguos, 
when it is said large amounts of gold were extracted from the 
valley of the Guayape, and sent to enrich the nobility of the 
mother country. The old Spanish chronicler, Herrera, makes 
mention of the Guayape and its golden treasures. The general 
had heard of these accounts, but his limited reading had never 
gone beyond the perusal of the political pamphlets and news- 
papers of the country. I mentioned the buccaneers, and alluded 
to my researches among old volumes of the Spanish library at 
Tegucigalpa, belonging to my friend, Don Manuel Ugarto. My 
companion listened attentively. 

" Follow me, and I will show you," said he, " the old mines 
where the Spaniards used to take out gold." He wheeled his 
horse, leaping a fallen tree in a manner which I dared not imi- 
tate. So, making a circuit, with much difficulty I forced my 
horse up the bank after him. 

On a slope more than sixty feet above, I found him standing 
near some large and deep pits (holes) partially filled with earth. 
They were four in number. Heaps of stones and earth, matted 
with grass and vines, lay near their mouths, and trees of near r. 
century's growth, rooted in the bottom of the pits, indicated their 
great antiquity. These venerable excavations reminded me of 
similar places along the Stanislaus and South Yuba. 



ANCIENT WOKIONGS. 289 

" Twenty years ago," said the general, "we took out rusted 
tools and bars of iron of Spanish manufacture, left here more 
than a hundred years before. Stories," he continued, "are yet 
handed down among the Indians toward Catacamas that an- 
cient implements, made by the aborigines, who worked here long 
before Columbus discovered America, were found there by the 
old Spaniards. The gold that went to adorn the splendid pal- 
aces of Palenque, Copan, and Chichen, doubtless came from the 
valley of the Guayape and other parts of Olancho. From this 
kind of pit, in the old time, while Honduras was a Spanish 
province, the gold was taken that freighted the Spanish galle- 
ons. Had Spain been faithful to us, she would not have been 
poor, as she now is. The entire coast, from Balize in Yucatan 
to San Juan del Norte in Nicaragua, became a resort for robbers 
— buccaneers. The English of the West India islands allowed 
them to wage war against the colonies of Spain. Not a ship 
could sail, I have been told, from Truxillo or Omoa without fall- 
ing into their hands. They leagued themselves with the Mos- 
quitos or Sambos of the coast, supplied them with weapons, 
pensioned their chiefs, and encouraged them to a perpetual war 
upon Nicaragua. These circumstances prevented the continued 
development of our gold mines." 

In this strain the general proceeded, pointing, as we rode, to 
the openings in the trees, or to growths of a more recent date, 
where the early adventurers had cut pathways from their work- 
ings to the river, or to traces of even more ancient aboriginal 
excavations. These last are found in numerous localities on the 
Guayape and its tributaries, as well as along the course of the 
Quebrada de Oro, the Mangulile, Mirojoco, Sulaco, and Silaca, 
tributaries of the Aguan and other rivers discharging through 
the Department of Yoro into the Caribbean Sea. 

On our return to Lepaguare from the Murcielago, we bore the 
rocker, snugly packed on a mule's back, to be used in future op- 
erations in other localities; but, as will hereafter appear, I was 
unable to make the experiments I had proposed except in a very 
unsatisfactory and imperfect manner. My rocker has probably, 
by this time, fallen to pieces, or, what is more likely, passed into 
the hands of some of the adventurers who have since visited the 
gold regions of Olancho. 

T 



290 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

As we approached the hacienda of Barroza, the residence of 
the youngest brother, Don Lorenzo Zelaya, alcalde primero of 
Jutecalpa, we were met "by a splendidly-mounted party, who 
came leaping their horses with wild freedom over the sward to- 
ward us. These were Don Lorenzo himself, accompanied by 
Don Carlos Zelaya, the general's oldest son, and their usual at- 
tendants. Hearing from one of the vaqueros of our visit to the 
Murcielego, and probable return by the way of Barroza, they had 
prepared a grand dinner for our reception. The little cavalcade 
reined suddenly up when almost upon us, and the ceremony of 
introduction was quickly performed. Lorenzo bore the features 
of the old general, but without his nobleness of expression. He 
is said to be the pet of the family, and the affectionate regard 
manifested toward each other by these uncultivated and simple 
aristocrats of Olancho affected me at times more deeply than I 
should be willing to admit. 

The hacienda of Barroza is by no means the picturesque spot 
I had supposed it to be from a distant view, but within we found 
all the hospitality so famous among the Olanchanos. We de- 
cided to remain all night. Here I met the venerable Jose Man- 
uel, Santiago, and Jose Maria Zelaya, who, with the general 
(Francisco) and Lorenzo, the "youngster" of the quintette, made 
up the family. A faithful account of the stories and legends re- 
counted here of the gold placers in the surrounding hills, inter- 
spersed with historical and other interesting facts, would have 
made in itself a readable and instructive volume. It was, how- 
ever, difficult to enjoy and appreciate this bounteous hospitality, 
and be, at the same time, a "chiel amang them takin' notes." 
Long after midnight, when all else had retired to sleep, I sat 
smoking with Don Santiago, '•'•Juez de Prwiero Instancia de 
Olancho,'''' who, in his official capacity during many years, had 
become stuffed with valuable information in relation to the his- 
tory and topography of the country. To him I am indebted for 
a history of Olancho, its early settlement, and the progress of the 
Zelayas and other leading families from their entrance into the 
country up to the present time. Don Santiago is the "learned 
brother" and the oracle of the rest of the family in all legal, scien- 
tific, or historical matters. His grave expression, refined cast of 
countenance, and ample forehead overshadowed by black, curling 



MOUNTED CABALLEROS. 291 

hair, "betoken a man of line abilities, and who elsewhere might 
have made an enduring name. It was long after midnight when, 
with fingers cramped and eyes smarting from the effects of the 
dim tallow candle by which I had taken down his lengthy histor- 
ical resume, I bid him good-night, and joned the sleeping crowd. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

A Ride in the Valley of Lepaguare. — A "bueno Jinete" of Olancho. — The Va- 
nilla Vine : how it grows. — Susceptible of Cultivation. — The Vanilla Trade. — 
Productions of Olancho. — Wild Berries. — Another Excursion. — Hacienda de 
Galeras. — Wild Horses. — Mounted Vaqueros. — The Road to El Rio Moran. — 
Falls of the Moran. — Deer and Antelope. — The Temperature. — Coast Eevers. 
— Ho ! for Jutecalpa. — Galeras again. — A Birth-day Dinner. — Mammoth Ta- 
ble-top. — Sheep and Wolves. — The Vale of Paradise. — Dissolving Views. — 
— Golden Rhapsodies. — A Bath with the Mocking-birds. — Leaving Galeras.— 
Kindness of the Zelayas. — The Start for Jutecalpa. 

On the following morning, having breakfasted, we remounted 
and returned to Lepaguare. I got out my traveling writing- 
desk, and commenced putting to paper the facts I had already 
obtained. The general and his family preserved a respectful si- 
lence while I was thus occupied, and the women chid the noisy 
Indian children who were frolicking outside. When I had com- 
pleted my work, and made such additions to the map as my 
conversations with Don Santiago had suggested, Don Francisco 
proposed that we should ride to the vicinity of Cerro Gordo, 
where were growing a number of vanilla plants, and which I had 
expressed a desire to see. He also thought it possible that his 
second son, Don Toribio, might be expected from Truxillo, where 
he had been absent two months to purchase mantos and a gen- 
eral assortment of dry goods. He had a train of twenty mules, 
which had gone down to the coast loaded with cheese, one of 
the great productions of Olancho. 

Behold us now mounted on the spirited cahallos de Uloa, 
the finest breed in Olancho, and moving along the emerald plain 
toward the picturesque Cerro Gordo. The acquired pace of the 
Olancho horse is the quintessence of ease and delightful motion, 
and, beneath the comfortable Mexican saddle, seems to carry the 
rider along with as little perceptible motion as a boat gliding 



292 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

over the gentle undulations of a lake. It was a great compli- 
ment from the general that he had ordered to he saddled for me 
his favorite, a large black horse kept for particular occasions. 
The beautiful creature had an eye almost human in its intelli- 
gence, and his glossy, well-filled coat attested to the fond care 
of his owner. He was the only animal in the caballeria that 
had ever been shod ; the shoes, however, carelessly fastened by 
some, bungling native blacksmith, had long since been cast. 

No words can express the exhilaration and joyous sense of 
freedom experienced in a journey among the valleys of Olancho, 
the rider inhaling health with every breath, and each sense elate 
with pleasure. At the time of my visit the rains had nearly 
ceased, leaving all nature sparkling with the rich green so sel- 
dom seen out of an English rural picture. The higher lands of 
the department had donned a somewhat gayer dress than they 
were wont to wear, while the marshes and plains, wherever 
wooded, glowed in the sunlight with the freshest, purest green. 

Don Francisco was counted the best horseman in Olancho, 
owing partly, perhaps, to the dignified and patriarchal appearance 
he offered when mounted. But, aside from this, as his horse (a 
fine bay) curvetted in advance of the little party, I could but ad- 
mire the ease of the rider, as with long accustomed muscles he 
swayed gracefully to the lithe motions of his noble animal, his 
portly form completely filling the saddle, and his features shaded 
with a broad-brimmed sombrero de Guayaquil. At times, in 
the course of conversation, which flowed rapidly, excited by the 
beauty of the scenery and the enlivening motions of the horse, 
he would turn partly round to address me, gesticulating with 
that animated dignity almost inseparable from the well-bred 
caballero. 

In truth, if the old man had a weak point, it was in his rep- 
utation for horsemanship, regarding which he was ever jealous 
and easily flattered. His brother, Don Santiago, had once en- 
joyed the name of being el Tnejor jinete de Olancho, a reputa- 
tion not valueless, where to be an indifferent rider is the excep- 
tion to the rule ; but, since a fall he had received some years 
previous while breaking a wild mare, Don Francisco had taken 
precedence. To be a fine rider in Olancho does not imply the 
mere ability to mount and retain the seat on a wild colt just 



THE VANILLA VINE. 293 

from the untamed manada — a trick familiar to half the lounging 
brats about the haciendas. The term bueno jinete is usually 
accorded to the most graceful and dexterous manager of the 
horse, combining an easy carriage with the numerous feats done 
by a slight pressure of the rein, calculated to display the best 
points of the animal. 

I know of no more admirable sight than an '■'- Olanchano de 
familia distinguidcC mounted on one of these strong, well-knit 
horses, broken to the severe Spanish bit, his erect form placed 
in the saddle like a monument, his toes just resting in the stir- 
mps, the particolored serape flowing becomingly over the shoul- 
der, his swarthy face glowing with conscious pride from under 
the flapping hat, set jauntily on one side, and the tout ensemble 
of man and horse a picture of ease and democratic freedom 
rarely to be seen except in \k\% ^pampas of La Plata or the ran- 
chos de ganado of California. 

About two leagues from Lepaguare we crossed a small river, 
and, ascending the opposite bank, came upon a wild piece of 
table-land covered with copses, among which we paused to ex- 
amine the vanilla, here clambering up the trunks of the trees, 
sometimes to a distance of forty feet from the ground. The 
natives of Olancho are totally ignorant of the method of culture 
pursued in Mexico. Don Jose Manuel Zelaya had been in 
Mexico when a young man, but had forgotten the way of prop- 
agating it. In the small town of Pespire, next to Nacaome, an 
attempt was once made to cultivate the vanilla, and with encour- 
aging success. The place is on the Pacific slope, and but little 
elevated above the sea. Cuttings about a foot in length are in- 
serted in the bark of the tree upon which the vine is designed 
to climb, where it soon commences to grow. 

About twenty arrobas only are annually gathered in the 
woods of Olancho, most of which is taken to Tegucigalpa, 
where it is prepared for the market. A small quantity also 
finds its way to Balize, Truxillo, and Omoa. A very lucrative 
business may be carried on in all parts of Honduras by ofiering 
a trifle beyond the usual price, which would command the great- 
er part of what is gathered. The flowers are of a greenish yel- 
low mixed with white. But of the three varieties of the va- 
nilla found in Honduras, that known as la find is the most 



294 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

esteemed. The longer and narrower the pods, the greater ap- 
pears to he their value. Senor Losano, of Tegucigalpa, showed 
me about fifty pounds of three classes, which he was preparing 
for the fair of San Miguel. Much of this was gathered in 
Olancho and Yoro. For this he had paid from a medio (6| 
cents) to a real (12^ cents) per pound, according to quality. 
Being the principal dealer in that vicinity, it was customary to 
bring the fruit to him from a considerable distance around Te- 
gucigalpa, the small collectors preferring to realize at the local 
prices than to send, on their own account, to the market. 

At the fair of San Miguel vanilla sells at from two to four 
dollars of silver. About thirty quintales are annually gathered 
in Honduras and San Salvador. The plant affects two trees in 
Olancho, the Indio desnudo and the Guachipalin. The va- 
nilla of Olancho is probably that described by the botanist 
Miller as the Yanilla axillaris, and is described as occurring 
in Carthagena, New Spain, where it grows naturally. It has a 
climbing stalk, sending out roots from the joints, and mounting 
to a great height. The leaves, which come out singly at each 
joint, are oblong, smooth, and jointed. The flowers protrude 
from the side of the branches ; they are shaped like those of 
the great Bee-Orchis, but longer. The helmet is of a pale pink, 
and the lip purple. The vanilla vine is found from Mexico 
through Central America to Darien. The pods grow in pairs, 
and are generally of the thickness of a child's finger, and about 
five or six inches in length. They are green at first, then yel- 
lowish, and turn of a brownish cast as they ripen. The stalk is 
moderately slender, and throws out a long, winding tendril op- 
posite to each of the lower leaves, by which it adheres to the 
branches or bark of the tree ; but after it gains the top these 
become useless, and the place of each is supplied by a fellow- 
leaf. The birds of the country are represented as greedily de- 
vouring the ripe seeds. The method of curing the pods is quite 
simple. When they begin to ripen they are gathered and laid 
to ferment in heaps for several days. After being dried in the 
sun for an equal length of time, during which they are often 
touched with palm oil, they are a second time dried, and then 
packed for the nearest market. Much depends on the nicety 
of this oiling and drying process, as also on the condition of 



NATURAL PRODUCTIONS. 295 

the pod when picked. Tlie fruit is much improved by culti- 
vation. 

From two to four pounds a day can be gathered in good lo- 
calities by an industrious native. A small capital — say $3000 
in cash — would quite monopolize the vanilla business of all 
Honduras. The value of good vanilla in the markets of Eu- 
rope and the United States is too well known for comment here. 
There are no reliable statistics whereby to ascertain the amount 
collected in Central America. Near the city of Cojutepeque, in 
San Salvador, a successful attempt has been made to establish 
a vanilla hacienda, devoting the entire space of a large estate to 
the cultivation of the vine. The article is extensively cultiva- 
ted in Mexico, and the soil of Honduras seems equally adapted 
to it. Don Francisco listened attentively to my proposal to 
have a space of land cleared for the experiment, and I have since 
learned from him that several vines he had transplanted have 
exceeded his most sanguine hopes. 

But it was not alone the glistening lanceolate leaves of the 
vanilla that absorbed our attention. Various forms of vegeta- 
tion, the solidest and the tenderest, gave life and animation to 
the scenery around. The shrubs and trees looked fat with sap, 
and ready to burst their rinds with the warm expansion. Veg- 
etable ivory and cork ; the cocoanut and banana ; the wild lem- 
on and the luscious guava ; gum of Araby, and in the uplands 
the barley of the North ; delicately-perfumed plants were here, 
and the ill-scented but useful India-rubber. The names of 
many Don Chico was entirely ignorant of, even their local ones ; 
but the vaqueros, whose lives had been passed from childhood 
roaming among the woods in search of stray cattle, or coursing 
days alone among the plains and hills, were familiar with near- 
ly all, and answered readily to every inquiry. Thus I was 
warned at one time from contact with the deadly mansanilla, 
the Upas of Olancho ; and at another my attention was directed 
to a tree loaded with black, shiny berries, resembling the lar- 
gest size of swamp whortleberries, but of a sweet, grapy flavor, 
and known here as the sold. These I gathered by the hand- 
ful, stripping them from the twigs, and eating them with a keen 
appreciation of their quality. The foliage of' this tree is nearly 
the same as that of the mountain ash of New England. 



296 



EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 



On another occasion I rode with the general and L to the 

River Moran, one of the tributaries of the Guayape. Taking its 
rise toward Tiupacente to the southward, and descending by 
two splendid faUs, it leaps in a whirl of foam to join the larger 
stream below. 

As usual, we started at 
early dawn, and, traveling 
the velvety plains ofLepa- 
guare and Galeras, stopped 
at the hacienda of that 
name, for many years the 
residence of Don Santiago 
Zelaya. We had hardly 
entered the gateway when 
the ground began to trem- 
ble as with the beating of 
many hoofs, and at the 
same moment, from around 
a bend in the woods, ap- 
peared a troop of horses 
and mules, numbering per- 
haps two hundred. They were at full stretch, and heading di- 
rectly for the corral or cattle-pen, pursued by four or five 
mounted vaqueros, following the herd by instinct, and dodging 
to the right and left as any one of the chase seemed disposed to 
bolt and quit company. This was a new picture, and as it 
passed fairly to view on the open plain, I hardly knew which 
most to admire, the sleek and elegant forms of the half-wild 
animals, or the incredible ease and grace with which these pic- 
turesque Centaurs sat and guided their leaping steeds. There 
was nothing strained or awkward either in the trappings or the 
light costume of the riders. Brought up astride the fierce wild 
horses of the plains, they move with the animal, and seem a 
part of the creature, whose very muscles seem to act in obedi- 
ence to their will. 

The whole herd dashed, kicking and plunging, pell-mell into 
the inclosure, and we remained long enough to witness the op- 
eration of breaking a she-devil of a mule, whose glistening hide, 
straining like velvet over her trembling body, showed every mus- 




OATTLE HACIENDA. 



CROSSING THE GUAYAPE. 



297 



cle as she sprang madly about in the toils of the lazo. Don 
Santiago and a company of half a dozen shortly after joined us, 
and we galloped away toward the Rio Moran. The falls were 
only visited at long intervals by the natives, to hunt up some 
hermit of a bull or Daniel Boone of a horse, whose tastes led 
them to this solitary locality to escape the monthly routine of 
corraling. We crossed several small streams until we reached 
the Guayape, fording it at a rocky passage where the country 




GUAYAPE EIVEK NEAK GALEEA8. 



spreads out into a savanna or plain. Here stands a small hut of 
branches, where the cattle-drivers were accustomed to pass the 
night when belated. This ford during the rainy months is im- 
passable. Leaving the river, we mounted a range of hills crown- 
ed with pines and oaks, and ledges of quartz protruding along 
its steep sides. The path now became lost in the branches 
and long grass, whose luxuriance showed how little the trail 
was traveled. Our guide on this trip was a long, swarthy fel- 
low, whose muscular limbs indicated long travel in the mount- 
ains. The general called him Marcos. From the summit of 
this ridge I again noted the bearings of the principal peaks, 
among which that of Teupacente loomed conspicuous. The 



298 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

country through which we passed was mountainous and pictur- 
esque, but not wearing the inviting aspect of the valleys below, 
these ranges forming the natural boundaries of the great cattle- 
plains of Lower Olancho. The falls of the Moran are about 
three leagues from the ford of the Guayape. The whole dis- 
tance from Lepaguare by the winding of the road was about 
twenty miles. "We descended into the next valley, crossing a 
small tributary of the Guayape, and, rising the succeeding ridge, 
followed its crest, when, approaching the slope of the mountain 
from among a pine forest, we were suddenly within sound of 
the cascade, whose voice came solemnly up and penetrated the 
woods. We rested a while, and then commenced the descent 
by a series of grassy plateaus to where the upper fall came in 
view, and, immediately after, the lower one. The spray, dashing 
wildly upon the tumble of rocks, kept them dripping with 
moisture, which sparkled in the sunlight even at that distance. 
We now dismounted, and, fastening our animals, commenced the 
descent toward the falls. These do not, like heavier cataracts, 
overpower with impressions of their grandeur, but please rather 
by their beauty of proportion, grace of motion, color, and adapt- 
ation to the surrounding scenery. Concentrating their force 
after the turbulent gathering above, the waters throw themselves 
out broadly along the bosom of the slant rock, and gradually 
settle themselves into the river below, while the surrounding 
cliifs echo the grave music of their voice. 

By help of the depending boughs, I made my way down to 
a narrow, slippery ledge below the falls,-'from which position 
new features in the scenery were unveiled. Branches wrenched 
from the overhanging trees lay along the water's edge, with 
drooping but not yet withered leaves, denoting the recent pas- 
sage of a storm and the consequent flood of the river. Masses 
of rock, that had been precipitated from the heights above, en- 
croached in bold juts upon the stream. From one of them, an 
eagle, as if displeased at our presence in a domain of which he 
alone was lord, rose heavily, and sailed away above the higher 
summits of the mountain. Some of the interstices of the cliff 
were stocked with flowers, and acacias, or something closely re- 
sembling them, drooped their yellow tresses, languid and beau- 
tiful, to their own bright reflection in the stream. 



FALLS OF THE MORAN. 299 

From where we stood, I took in the full depth of the fall, 
and could trace the river leaping down a series of cascades 
toward the Guayape. In situations like this, the blue of sky 
and water, and the green of foliage, are not the presiding tints 
of the landscape. The gray of the bare rocks, the crimson, yel- 
low, and white of those that are moss-clad, the brown and olive 
of decayed vegetation, the glitter of the spray, the depths, al- 
most black, of the silent forests — all these, with the clearness 
of the pervading atmosphere, touching with aerial hue the sum- 
raits of the purple mountain ridges, combined to produce a pic- 
ture, to represent which every color and combination of the 
painter's palette would be called in requisition. 

It was late in the afternoon when we scrambled up the rug- 
ged ascent, and, remounting our horses, turned again toward 
home, which we reached late at night. 

On several occasions we started away on hunting excursions, 
but, until our return from the eastward later in the season, we 
had but ill luck. The deer of Olancho are similar to those of 
all Central America, of a light brown color, and are shot rather 
for the skins, which form an important article of export, than as 
desirable for food. 

So abundant are the deer and antelope in some of the mount- 
ains of Honduras, that it is usual to travel with a gun slung 
across the shoulders. In Olancho, where the care of cattle and 
collection of hides occupies mainly the attention of the people 
in the capacity of herdsmen, they carry also a butcher-knife 
thrust into the girdle, which has given rise to the saying 
throughout the rest of the state that the Olanchanos are quar- 
relsome desperadoes. 

While preparing for my departure from Tegucigalpa, I re- 
member to have been frequently warned by my friends there 
that traveling in Olancho was extremely dangerous ; but from 
ray first arrival to the time of my departure I met only with 
profuse hospitality, and found the natives simple and kind- 
hearted. 

The hacienda of Lepaguare is nearly a thousand feet higher 
than Jutecalpa, which gives it an elevation of about eighteen 
hundred feet above the sea. The mining localities will proba- 
bly average about that height above the ocean. My observa- 



300 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

tions of temperature and weather were made uninterruptedly 
three times a day, from September to February. At six o'clock 
A.M., observations made from December 16th to January 15th 
showed an extreme variation of only nine degrees, 52° to 61°. 
Noon observations for the same days showed the same varia- 
tions, from 72° to 80°. Evening observations from six P.M. 
gave only six degrees of variation, 69° to 75°. The morning 
temperature at Lepaguare was about 59°, and at noon about 
78° ; the evening was about 74° for the winter. It is seldom 
as hot at Jutecalpa as it has been known at New York in the 
summer season. The reasons for this are geographical, and 
do not apply generally to the tropics. At Truxillo, on the 
sea-coast, the heat is greater, and bilious fevers and dysenter- 
ies are common, though not often fatal. My travels in Olan- 
cho did not carry me to the coast, but from the testimony of 
numerous persons it must be generally unhealthy. The lower 
country bordering on the Caribbean Sea is known as the ti- 
erra caliente among the Olanchanos, and few of them who vis- 
it it escape a touch of the fever. Seiior Ocampo, with whom 
I became intimate, had twice, he said, been brought " near the 
tomb" in pursuing the hazardous calling of the mahogany-cut- 
ter, which required him to remain on the low coast savannas 
and lagoons. With the exception of occasional reference to the 
scenery and climate as I passed through the country, I have re- 
served these subjects for a fuller description in a distinct chap- 
ter. The interior of Olancho, and, indeed, of the greater part 
of Honduras, offers one of the healthiest and most agreeable 
climates in the world. Many natives have lived to advanced 
age without ever passing into the low countries, and could prob- 
ably never be persuaded to do so. 

After several weeks spent at Lepaguare and the neighboring 
estates, where I enjoyed an unceasing round of festive recep- 
tion, and all the warmth of the rude hospitality of the people, I 
intimated to the general my desire to proceed eastward toward 
the famous town of Jutecalpa, of which I had heard frequent 
mention as the metropolis of the little world of Olancho, and of 
surpassing interest to the stranger, as retaining, in the archi- 
tecture of its buildings and the simple customs of its inhabit- 
ants, the primitive appearance of the early Spanish settlements. 



OFF FOR JUTECALPA. 301 

Although my case was well stocked with odd-looking letters 
of introduction to the principal families of the place, Don Fran- 
cisco insisted upon adding nearly a dozen to the package, which 
he said would set them by the ears for the right of entertaining 
me. He advised me by all means to remain at the houses of 
Senores Garay or Gardela, old and wealthy citizens, who would 
have horses always in readiness for me, and be able to afford 
more valuable information than any other persons in the town. 
The Funcion de la Yirgen was to commence the 8th of De- 
cember, and as this is the principal dia de fiesta of Olancho, my 
host was very anxious that I should be in town during the 
week which it occupied. The sickness of the seiiora forbade 
her leaving the house, and the girls, of course, would remain to 
nurse her. The general promised to meet me at Jutecalpa, and 
there arrange with me the oft-mentioned contract, the terms of 
which I had been cogitating over since ray arrival. The object 
of my host in this delay was to confer with the four remaining 
brothers, without whose concurrence he would refuse to enter 
into any agreement. 

At noon we started from Lepaguare, amid the '•'- Adios^ Don 
Chnllei/mio r of the vaqueros and the crowd belonging to the 
hacienda. Conspicuous among them, and a head taller than the 
rest, stood the general, with his great beaming face expressing 
all the warmth of his generous heart. He is the idol of the peo- 
ple, and they may well love him. Our road to Jutecalpa lay 
over the usual level plain. We had just turned a distant angle 
in the road, shutting out the hacienda from sight, when the 
tramp of horses was heard coming after us, and the general, 
Don Toribio (who had arrived from Truxillo), and Julio gal- 
loped toward us. They were determined to extend the com- 
pliment of accompanying us on our road. This is considered 
one of the greatest civilities that can be shown to a stranger in 
Olancho. It is a custom descended from the conquerors. 

A brisk "gallop brought us to the hacienda of Galeras, where 
the general desired we should remain that night, and take an 
early start on the following morning. One of the first things 
that met my eye on dismounting was a basket of veritable Irish 
potatoes, brought from the mountains of Tegucigalpa, where 
Don Santiago had sent for them for seed. They were small, 



302 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

white, watery-looking affairs, but the pride of their owner, who 
was quite sanguine that they would grow on his estate. I was 
at once earnestly engaged describing to him the North Ameri- 
can method of cultivating them. Passing the hacienda some 
two months later, I found they had thrown bunches of vigorous 
leaves above ground, and bid fair to be entirely successful. 
Sefior Zelaya assured me that potatoes had been raised in Olan- 
cho, but these were the only ones I saw in that department. 

The dinner set before us was a wonder of luxury. It was 
placed on the great cedar table by two rosy-cheeked, bouncing 
girls, daughters of Don Santiago, and consisted of wild honey, 
tortillas, fried, jerked, and fresh beef, fresh bread, vegetables, 
butter, cheese, coffee, cream, rice, fried bananas, roast kid, boiled 
goat's milk, and eggs boiled and fried. With such a bill of 
fare, and our late gallop to whet the appetite, we needed no per- 
suasion to prove ourselves good trencher-men. This was Don 
Santiago's birth-day, which accounted for the unusual good 
cheer. The old gentleman was soon satisfied, and, leaning back 
in his chair, he tied an ample blue handkerchief about his head, 
lighted a cigarro, and watched us complacently as we did jus- 
tice to his dinner. 

The house is one of the largest and best in Olancho. It is 
paved regularly with handsome tiles, and is divided by heavy 
partitions of masonry into four large apartments, communicating 
with each other by doors of cedar. The size of the cedars of 
Olancho I have never seen equaled out of California and Ore- 
gon. They are usually found along the river-bottoms, often 
reaching a hundred feet in height, and from six to ten in diame- 
ter. They are found growing in the midst of the forest, and 
eclipsing all save the mahogany in majestic beauty of proportion 
and evenness of grain. At several of the haciendas I saw ta- 
ble-tops eleven feet long by seven wide, without a flaw or crack. 
The wood works easily, and may be applied to all common pur- 
poses. The table at Don Santiago's hacienda was the largest 
I had yet seen. At night, four or five of the natives would 
spread their serapes across its breadth, and make it a comfort- 
able resting-place. , 

After dinner the old Don took us out to his sheep corral, 
where we counted some fifty fine-looking carneros, from which 



HACIENDA DE GALERAS. 303 

the homespun cloth at the hacienda is made. He complained 
of the ravages of coyotes and wolves, whose voices, in wild cho- 
rus, we often heard during the night far over the plain, answered 
back by the nearer and unanimous concert of the hacienda dogs. 
Sheep thrive wonderfully in Olancho, where the extensive pas- 
turage presents excellent facilities for raising them. None of 
the diseases usually incident to these animals are known here : 
the owners of estates declare the wolves to be the only pests 
they have to contend with. Some small quantities of wool go to 
the fair and to the ports of the Caribbean Sea. We were shown 
a tree of superb foliage near the house, famous for its cathartic 
properties, called the aria ; also the pinon, with similar quali- 
ties ; and trailing along the bars of the sheep corral was a vine 
known as the friaga j)lata, the roots of which are a valuable 
medicine. All of these are in general use in Olancho. 

Standing at the door of the hacienda, I was speedily lost 
in contemplating the wondrous intensity with which Nature 
works, producing in close proximity so many forms of vegeta- 
tion. Every useful shrub and tree that grows seems to have 
made this garden of Central America its home. There is scarce- 
ly a work for human hands which may not be executed here 
with materials found upon the surface ; not a month in the year 
when labor may not be performed ; not a taint in the atmos- 
phere, nor any indigenous or imported pestilence. Don Santiago 
spoke of great and wealthy haciendas of cattle and mules to the 
northward and eastward, where valleys equally picturesque and 
deHghtful could be found, perhaps even more secluded from the 
world than those about us. "You must travel," said he, "many 
months through these mountains before you will know Olan- 
cho ;" and as I gazed at the distant ranges to the north and 
east, their faint outlines almost melting in the blue sky beyond, 
I could easily imagine the secluded valleys, and rich, verdure- 
clad meadows sleeping peacefully at their feet. Between us 
and the nearest range, forming a natural amphitheatre, the green 
and tinted plains lay undulating like a painted sea, over which 
thousands of cattle fed lazily along, and the few trees cast 
lengthening and flickering shadows as their leaves glowed in 
the sunset and trembled in the upland breeze. 

We awoke early next morning amid the crowing of cocks 



304 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

and lowing of herds. Our host described our road, and assured 
us that, with a moderate but steady pace, we could reach Jute- 
calpa bj nightfall. While breakfast was preparing, we strolled 
out to enjoy the fresh morning air. One of the boys pointed at 
a brook near the house where a woman had dug eight ounces 
of gold in one day. Don Santiago corroborated the statement, 
and said he had bought it at $12.50 per ounce. 

"All the country about here, far as you can see," he said, 
"is gold-bearing. Do you see that gorge in yonder chain of 
hills ? That is where the two daughters of Maria Saenz found 
their famous ' windfall,' four pounds of gold in two days ! 
Along the foot of that range of hills, with the two tall palms to 
the right, you may dig, and never wash a pan of earth without 
finding some specks of gold even on the surface. Far beyond, 
in that chain — you can just see the blue tops over these hills — 
there are evidences of ancient workings, and even now the wom- 
en who go there are tolerably successful. Under your feet, 
where you stand, you can get gold by simple washing. Pull 
up a stalk of corn from yonder plantation, shake the roots care- 
fully into a bowl, and nine times out of ten you will see some 
yellow dust ; and look at the adobe of which the walls of that 
stone house are constructed : you may pulverize any of those 
square cakes of mud, and you can scarcely fail to find, after 
washing, a few specks of gold at the bottom. Gold!" contin- 
ued my friend, pulling nervously at the cigarro he held firmly 
in his thumb and finger, " gold ! there is as much of it here, 
Don Guillermo, as in California. We only need the energy to 
get it out — the enterprise and work of the great American people. 
The very walls of our houses are impregnated with gold ! " 

I left my kind-hearted old friend, and strayed down to a 
deep place in the Quebrada to bathe. Here I observed a num- 
ber of sensontes, or mocking-birds, splashing about with the 
same object, and fluttering distractedly here and there, now 
plunging headlong into the placid element, or desisting a while 
to have a jolly fight on some adjacent tree, from which they 
would again descend, apparently with increased zest, to the bath. 
Some of them, perched among the foliage, whiled away the te- 
dious process of feather-drying by practicing their morning con- 
cert, the rich strains of which some hook-beaked, g^i^Yky juaca- 



THE ZELAYA BROTHERS. 305 

malla would interrupt with his harsh voice, and then, as if dis- 
satisfied with his ineffectual competition, compose his gorgeous 
plumage and sail away, until his gay colors faded in the deep 
blue of the sky. 

In my anxiety to reach Jutecalpa, I resolutely refused the 
tempting invitations to remain at Galeras, and while it was yet 
morning, made out of the patio in company with the three eld- 
er brothers and several younger members of the Zelaya family. 
They wished to accompany me a few miles on the road. As 
we passed rapidly along in the face of a fresh morning breeze, 
the three old men separated themselves a while, and conversed 
earnestly together. An occasional glance showed me they were 
entertaining my proposals for a contract, and were perhaps dis- 
cussing my own claims to their business relations. After a 
while, wheeling their horses, which up to now had been held to 
a hand-gallop, they came nearer, and Don Jose Manuel, the eld- 
est, said, 

" Don Guillermo, we have observed that something troubles 
you ; perhaps it is the fear that we shall not feel disposed to en- 
ter into a contract with you. You have come from a long dis- 
tance, and are, no doubt, associated with wealthy and great men 
at the North. They expect you to succeed, and you shall. Go 
to Jutecalpa, and pass \hs,funcion in feasting and dancing, and 
when you have seen the country, come to us, and the general 
shall make a contract with you to bring the good and industri- 
ous of your countrymen to Olancho to open our gold mines. 
We are all agreed that this is the only way to show the world 
what Olancho is, and could we be young again, we would our- 
selves go there, learn your great improvements, and do for Olan- 
cho what I believe the Americans will eventually accomplish." 

In this strain the simple-hearted brothers encouraged me. 
After a few miles they reined in, and, wishing me huen viaje, 
wheeled round and stretched away over the plain. I stood and 
watched their forms until the intervening woods shut them out 
from view. Then, with a feeling almost of home-sickness, I 
turned toward the eastward, and with L and my two serv- 
ants again headed for Jutecalpa. 

u 



306 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Gold Washings on the Eio de Jutecalpa. — The Eoad. — Lignum Vit^-trees. — 
Monte de Aguacate. — ^Dry Gulches. — Mamaisaca. — More Lavaderas. — Buying 
Gold Dust. — Monte Eucaitado. — The Campanilla. — Scenery on the Road. — 
Feathered Horticulturists. — Jutecalpa. — View from the Mountain. — First 
Impressions. — The Church. — Introductions. — Don Francisco Garay. — One of 
the Hidalgos of Olancho. — The Padres Cubas and Buenaventura. — Liberal 
Offers. — Map-making. — The Climate. — Jutecalpa in the Olden Time. — Don 
Opolonio Ocampo. — An Adventure with the Warees. — More Gold-washing. — 
The Liquid Amber-tree. — Preparations for the Funcion. — Applicants for Pock- 
et-money. — An Olancho Patriarch. — The " Plaza de Toros." 

Shortly after parting with the Zelayas we came to a piece 
of sloping land, near the Hio de Jutecalpa, where the ground 
seemed to have teen skimmed over for several rods, leaving the 
bed-rock bare at a depth of perhaps fourteen inches, with an 
appearance like that remaining after the California operation of 
" ground-sluicing." I afterward learned that a valuable deposit 
of gold, indicated by an abundance of a red, ferruginous rock 
resembling cinnabar, and which in Olancho is considered a cer- 
tain proof of the existence of gold, had been found here. The 
women had carried this earth (answering to the California dry- 
diggings) in their hateas to the river, where in a week they 
washed out several pounds of fine gold. Either the deposit had 
given out at the limits above-mentioned, or the gold had become 
so fine and scarce as not to warrant the snail-paced operation 
of lugging the earth to the river in small quantities. I felt al- 
most certain that, with a set of hose and a full hydraulic appara- 
tus, such as that used in Nevada county, the entire hill could 
be made to pay large wages. The labor of these women had 
been performed with pointed sticks, and not a crowbar, pick, or 
shovel had ever been used in the vicinity. 

From Lepaguare to Jutecalpa the distance is some thirty 
miles. Under the impression that this must hereafter be trav- 
eled by caretas or wagons loaded with machinery, I was careftd 
to note the facilities of the route ; and, though the descent from 
the valley of Lepaguare to the town is not much less than a 



THE PEAK OE AGUACATE. 307 

thousand feet, there is scarcely a place where a loaded wagon 
could not now pass, and, with a slight improvement of some 
crossings of the E.io de Jutecalpa, the road would answer every 
purpose. As it is, one may ride at a hand-gallop between the 
two places, the path leading for the most part over level savan- 
nas prettily wooded with copses, and resembling the more level 
portions of New England. In some places the way was bor- 
dered with dense thickets, where flowers and rare plants clus- 
tered in close proximity, and afforded shelter to a variety of 
birds and animals. 

Among the trees I saw the lignum vitm (or guaiacuiji)^ 
here known as the guayacan. This valuable wood is rarely 
felled except by the mahogany-cutters, owing to its extreme 
hardness. I believe it is identical with a wood I often heard 
mentioned as the '■'■ quebrachcC {quebra-hacha, or break-axe), 
and growing wild in all the low forests of Eastern Honduras, 
along with the rosewood and mahogany. The tree usually at- 
tains a height of forty feet. The foliage is peculiar, resembling 
that of the cypress, and bearing a profusion of small, whitish 
flowers. Among the Poyas Indians the bark and gum are used 
as medicines. The guayacan generally makes a portion of the 
mahogany raft floating down the Guayape or Patook. 

By noon we had reached a conical mountain, standing to the 
northeastward of our route, known as £1 Pico de Aguacate, at 
the foot of which the Quebrada, or creek of that name, flows 
brawling along, and precipitates itself into the Eio de Jutecalpa 
below. Here again we obtained traces of gold washing. The 
mercury in my circular thermometer, as we rode in the sun, 
stood at 80°. White, fleecy clouds passed briskly overhead, 
impelled by the fresh breeze that rustled among the foliage, and 
at no time during our ride did we experience discomfort from 

heat. While L made a sketch of the Peak of Aguacate, 

the boys unloaded the pack-mule and spread out our eating 
paraphernalia on the grass. Small, delicate flowers, such as 
those seen in the temperate zones, nodded gayly in the wind 
about us, and adorned the sides of the adjacent hill-slopes. 

There are numerous dry gulches skirted with pines through- 
out this part of the country, resembling in every respect those 
of California. My servants, who had lived always among the 



308 EXPLOEATIONS m HONDUEAS. 

soberer scenery of the department of Tegucigalpa, and never be- 
fore realized scenes so beautiful as these, vented their admira- 
tion in simple ejaculations, and begged me to remember and em- 
ploy them again on my return with the great company from el 
Norte. 

After leaving Aguacate we met several persons on the road, 
mostly mounted, who, rejoiced at such an opportunity of learn- 
ing the latest news from the outer world, turned back and rode 
with us some distance. I took care to impress them with the 
importance of los Americanos del Norte ^ and the inestimable 
benefits they would confer upon Olancho as agriculturists and 
miners. We crossed the Rio de Jutecalpa eight times on our 
journey to the town. In several localities we found the marks 
of recent gold-washing. At this time, and, indeed, for several 
weeks before the Funcion de la Yir^en, the women, with re- 
ligious zeal, address themselves steadily to working along the 
river beds to meet the expenses of the ceremonies, of decorating 
the church, and of adorning themselves in the simple finery of 
the tiendas. Among the small streams flowing into the river 
was that of Tilapa, also noted for some " rich strikes" made by 
the women some years previous. From this place the distance 
to the hacienda and hamlet of Mamaisaca is two leagues, anoth- 
er by the windings of the road to the hacienda of Nance, and 
thence two more to Jutecalpa. 

At Mamaisaca we overtook two girls cautiously wading across 

the Rio de Jutecalpa. L accosted them good-naturedly, 

and inquired the distance to town. '■'• Aqui no ma^'' (just here), 
they replied. "Do you see how crumpled their dresses are?'" 

said L : " that is a sign that they have been washing gold ; 

they have had their skirts tied tightly around them while stand- 
ing in the water." I endeavored to get them into conversation, 
but they only looked stupidly at each other and smiled ; they 
seemed afraid to reply, or even to look at us. After repeated 
trials, however, we conquered their diffidence, and found out that 

L was right in his conjecture as to their recent occupation. 

I oiFered to buy tlieir gold if they would call on me at Jutecal- 
pa, upon which they readily exhibited what they had collected. 
They had left their sticks and bateas at the Quebrada below, 
where they intended to return the following day. The oldest 



THE CAMPANILLA. S09 

took out of lier bosom a cloth which she carefully unrolled, dis- 
covering a quill nearly filled with line scaly particles of that 
deep yellow hue which distinguishes the gold of the Guayape 
and its tributaries from that of other portions of Olancho and 
Segovia, where its white appearance indicated a partial amalga- 
mation with other metals or substances. The quill was still 
wet, and the finer dust adhered to the inside, which prevented 
my turning the whole of it out ; but on afterward weighing it 
at Jutecalpa there was about a quarter of an ounce, which I 
bought for a trifle over two dollars in silver. 

Here we took leave of our lavaderas, and, rising the bank 
fr'om the river, came in full view of a beautiful peak, known as 
d Monte Encantado^ or the Enchanted Mountain, from the tra- 
dition that its summit is the haunt of the spirits of the abo- 
rigines, whence issue pale fires and the sounds of solemn bells. 
The natives pass the vicinity of the Encantado with deep awe, 
and beads are told with double unction when approaching its 
mysterious precincts. 

The harmless little meteor of the forest, the lantern-fly, prob- 
ably supplies the spectral lights, and the campanero or camjpa- 
nilla (bell-ringers) the solemn tolling. The bird producing this 
sound is found throughout Honduras. The traveler plodding 
through the woods is startled with the distant tone of a bell 
floating on the waves of the air, with the undulations peculiar 
to a heavy belfry tenant. He pauses to listen, and, after a short 
interval, again hears the sound piercing the solitudes, and re- 
sembling the muffled clang of some deep-mouthed convent bell. 
The campanero tolls about an hour toward evening ; he is an 
unassuming fellow, with few of the gaudy trappings of his feath- 
ered companions, and affects the shadiest depths of the forest. 
He is rarely seen, and is said to erect a remarkable crest from 
his head as he plays ventriloquist free of charge. 

The whole route toward Jutecalpa abounds in pretty views, 
and, Jew-like, I felt a grasping desire to preserve them all. 
Sometimes the path led us through a natural arbor, like those 
seen at Hartford and New Haven ; or into a Gothic jungle, 
gaudy as an Italian dress-circle, draped with laines and tasseled 
with blossoms ; sometimes we entered a miniature valley, in 
which the rude cabin of the little hacienda peeped out from 



310 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

among a mass of fruit-trees — ^Ibeans, rice, pumpkins, and oranges 
grouped together, and among them the bronzed ninas (whose 
simple attire consisted of a string of beads and a shock of frow- 
zy hair) stared half frightened at us from the foliage of which 
(so motionless were they) they seemed to form a part ; or, pass- 
ing a section of more open country, we found ourselves thrid- 
ding little copses of the jicoral, the Ganymede of Olancho, whose 
ruddy limbs present to the traveler the indispensable calabash, 
or drinking-cup of the woods. 

The birds of Olancho are the most persevering horticulturists 
in the country. As if by design of Providence, they carry the 
seeds of a variety of fruits in their beaks, or drop them undi- 
gested about the hills and valleys, where, in the fat soil, nour- 
ished by copious rains and sunshine, they speedily germinate* 
Many fruits are thus distributed about the country. I thus 
accounted for the frequent lemon, orange, and sweet lime trees 
appearing along the road. The delicious salsi, already de- 
scribed, has been spread over Olancho in this way, and the va- 
nilla is no doubt disseminated in a similar manner. 

But I was too anxious to view the goal of my hopes, Jute- 
calpa, to give much attention to these subjects. The botanist 
has here an extensive field, and many valuable drugs, plants, 
and superb flowers will yet be brought to light, as the country 
is opened up to scientific research. 

On leaving Lepaguare, the general had insisted on our leav- 
ing our shaggy mountain mules to recuperate at the hacienda, 
supplying their places with fine, vigorous horses, for our serv- 
ants as well as for ourselves. My own (which the generous old 
man afterward gave me) was a tordilla, or spotted animal, 
spirited and well-knit. They bore us with unwearied pace up 
the slopes of the hills, until the frequent trains of mules and 
natives, plodding toward the eastward, showed us we were near 
our journey's end. We spurred up the gentle ascent to the 
ridge overlooking the valley of Jutecalpa, and, resting at the 
summit, gazed down, through the dim light of the evening, upon 
the capital of Olancho. 

It would be difiicult to describe the pleasure with which I 
contemplated in silence the splendid landscape glimmering in the 
last ray of sunset, and the odd-looking, superannuated Spanish 



JUTECALPA. 



311 



^^. 



■s -'I'V 




JUTECA1.PA raOil THE SOUTHWEST. 

town spread out beneath us. Long had this place been pic- 
tured to mj imagination, and now, after months of expectation, 
I found myself within sound of its church hells and local hustle. 
Far removed from the ordinary routes of travel or commerce, 
almost a myth even in secluded Central America, enjoying an 
ancient reputation as the centre of the gold region, which, two 
centuries ago, before civilization had well commenced to subdue 
the wilderness of New England, attracted the followers of Al- 
varado and the mailed cavaliers of the Conquest, Jutecalpa is 
invested with an interest to the modern adventurer only equaled 
by that attached to the mysterious ruins of aboriginal Chichen, 
Uxmal, or Palenque. 

A vast plain, lost in the horizon, yet bounded, as we could 
with difficulty discern, by ranges of rounded, wood -crowned 
mountains, spread away to the east and north, on which the pur- 
ple clouds of the west shed a ruddy glow, faintly tinting the 
hills, and indicating by a streak of light the winding course of 
the Rio de Jutecalpa, which, passing north of the town, enters 
the Guayape some miles below. The distant tapping of a drtim 
denoted the prevalence of the immemorial custom of patrolling 
the Plaza at nightfall, and the pealing of the cam/pana de ora- 



312 EXPLOEATIONS IN HOKDUEAS. 

don reminded us that here too was observed the heautiftd rite 

I have frequently alluded to in previous pages. L aroused 

me from my reverie, and, rapidly descending, we entered the 
paved streets of the town. The place is not unlike Tegucigalpa 
in point of architecture, but about one third the size, having the 
usual church. Plaza, cabilda, and principal private dwellings, 
and the streets running nearly at right angles. Some of the 
houses are handsome two-story edifices, neatly whitewashed, 
tiled, and with extensive fruit-gardens in the rear. The church, 
a recent one, occupies the site of the old building, and was con- 
structed partly from the pious contributions of the lavaderas. 

We stopped at a small tienda forming the corner of two 
streets, and inquired for the house of Senor Gardela. His res- 
idence, counted the finest in the town, forms part of the south- 
ern side of the square. The Senor Gardela was absent at one 
of his haciendas, and the house, though shut up, remained, as 
one of the servants informed us, at the disposal of the strangers. 
We preferred, however, to proceed to the residence of the vener- 
able Don Francisco Garay, of whom we had heard as a wealthy 
citizen living in solitary state on the outskirts of the town, and 
who was a warm corrvpadre of the general Zelaya. 

After some delay a little knot of people had collected, who kind- 
ly offered to conduct us. We crossed the square, following the di- 
rection indicated by our guides, and stopped before a large white 
building with grated windows, and apparently shut up on all 
sides. We knocked repeatedly at the door, and receiving no an-^ 
swer, Victor, by mj direction, thundered away at the great gate- 
way to the right, communicating with the hsick patio. Pres- 
ently the heavy wooden shutter of the window was opened, and 
a figure clad in white, as we could see through the darkness, 
looked out and shouted " Quien .^" 

L ■ replied that we bore letters of introduction to Senor 

Garay, and were desirous of passing the night at the house. 
The message was delivered, and immediately a gruff voice, evi- 
dently of a man far advanced in years, issued firom the window, 
asking our names. 

Learning who we were, he apologized for the delay, and bade 
us enter "in the name of God." At the same time the gate- 
way was thrown open, and we rode into the yard. 



A PATRIARCH OP OLANCHO. 313 

We came into a large jpatio, and leaving Victor and Roberto 
to take care of the beasts, followed an Indian boy into the sola,, 
where Ave presented ourselves to a venerable white-haired per- 
sonage, who rose with difficulty to receive us from an immense 
hammock stretching entirely across the apartment. He was of 
Herculean frame, and must have been, half a century ago, a fine- 
looking man. He received our letters with dignity, glancing 
over them through his spectacles, and repeating his cordial wel- 
come, at the same time roaring with the voice of a Stentor for 
supper " muy pronto'''' for the visitors. The house was quick- 
ly astir, and in half an hour we were seated at an ample table, 
spread with more dainties than I had the time or inclination to 
take note of. 

This was the famous Don Francisco Garay, the Croesus of 
Olancho, owner of ten thousand head of cattle and six estates, 
among them the beautiful and extensive La Jleradura. Our 
host, after regaining his hammock, lighted a cigarro, and was 
speedily informed as to the object of my visit and the aifairs 
of the world generally. Here was a simple-hearted, hospita- 
ble old man, white-haired, and of courteous aspect, who had 
never been beyond the confines of Olancho in his life of some 
eighty years. His cattle alone, if estimated at the standard set 
after the gold discoveries in California by the owner of estates 
in that country, would count up to a princely fortune, to say 
nothing of the untold herds of mules and horses, and the leagues 
of finest land, located in one of the most healthy and picturesque 
countries in the world ! 

He had brought up a family of fourteen children, and his wife 
dying, and with little other occupation or amusement, he had 
devoted his life to improving his property, frequently dispatch- 
ing a train of a hundred mules to Truxillo, loaded with cheese, 
deer-skins, and hides, or sending great droves of cattle, horses, 
and mules to Guatemala or the fair of San Miguel. About 
twenty years ago he was thrown from his saddle by a vicious 
wild horse, and his leg broken by the fall. It was set by some 
botching itinerant, rendering him a cripple thenceforth. With 
the exception of short rides upon some gentle mule, selected 
carefully and broken for his special use, he had resigned his 
active labors and the supervision of his hacienda to his children. 



314 EXPLOEATIONS m HONDUEAS. 

His time is now spent swinging in his beloved hammock, where 
he smokes the livelong day. 

Among his children was a daughter, for some years married 
to Senor Zelaya, Alcalde Primer o of Tegucigalpa. The old 
man told us, as a matter of great interest, that he had sent for 
her to pass the funcion in Olancho. The sons, absent in dis- 
tant sections of the department, were also expected to be pres- 
ent during the approaching j^esto, and a general reunion of the 
family was to take place. " You could not have arrived more 
opportunely," continued our host, after imparting, between the 
whiffs of his cigarro, the above details ; " the town will now re- 
semble its old festive and holiday times, when the gold placers 
were producing such vast wealth under the Spaniards." 

It was nearly midnight when we had exchanged protestations 
of friendship with the old Olanchano, and learned from his own 
garrulous lips the details of his life, family, and possessions. 
We, in turn, retailed the leading political and social events of the 
past year, of which, in his seclusion, he had heard but indistinct 
or exaggerated accounts. He listened attentively to our com- 
ments on the European war, destined, in his opinion, to entail 
even greater bloodshed and national changes than those of Na- 
poleon. We then had our hammocks swung, and, wearied with 
our thirty miles ride, were quickly in the land of dreams. 

The arrival of an Americano del Norte created an unusual 
sensation in the little social community of Jutecalpa. The sola 
of Seiior Garay was thronged on the following day. Among 
my visitors were the Curate Padre Francisco Cubas, Padre Bu- 
enaventura Colindres, Seiior Felipe Bustillos, Mateos Polvon, 
and numerous other worthies of the town. The ceremony of 
introduction to these was a bit of ludicrous formality, which any 
where else would have kept me well employed in commanding 
my risibles, but several months of experience had made these 
matters second nature. The Padre Colindres, or Buenaventu- 
ra, as he was familiarly called, soon became interested in my 
projects. He was an extremely popular man among all classes, 
with a great brain stuffed with country knowledge, but no read- 
ing beyond the Missal, Prayer-book, and an occasional news- 
paper from Tegucigalpa. He examined with great curiosity 
the maps which I had taken with me of the United States, and 



CLEEICAL CHAEACTERS. 315 

especially of California. He copied off the names of the states, 
and was for some time engaged in studying out a brief transla- 
tion I made for him of the forms of local government in the 
States, and other general matters in relation to '■'■el Norte.'''' 
The Padre Ctira^ or Curate of Jutecalpa, Francisco Cuhas, 
ranks above Padre Buenaventura. Each has his section of the 
department allotted to him, where they make a semiannual 
visit for the spiritual welfare of the people. I returned the vis- 
its of both, and was fortunate to conciliate their good-will. As 
I have before remarked, the countenance and favor of the priest- 
hood is a powerful auxiliary to the successful issue of any en- 
terprise among Spanish Americans. 

While at the house of the cura at the time of the succeeding 
fundon, I had an opportunity of observing the power possessed 
by the clergy over the people, and their readiness to contribute 
to its support. Several stout young fellows entered successive- 
ly during our interview, and, making a low obeisance at the 
door, came forward and deposited with their spiritual adviser 
various sums, from one to four dollars, to propitiate the Virgin 
in their favor. These the padre told me were part of their 
earnings at monte, the favorite game of the Spaniard the world 
over. These were followed by whole processions of women and 
old men, each willing to atone for some peccadillo by a trifle to 
the Virgin. The padre, who is not over thirty, I thought the 
most intelligent man I had seen in Olancho. He was self-edu- 
cated in Latin and French, and his library, of some two hund- 
red theological, metaphysical, and historical works, showed him 
to be no superficial reader. 

At the house of Senor Garay I had scarcely remained an 
hour before I had made half a dozen appointments with as 
many persons for excursions to various parts of the depart- 
ment ; among others, a journey to the famous Indian trading 
town of Catacamas, a few days' journey toward the coast, near 
where the Guayambre flows into the Guayape, and known as 
"''La Conjhiencia de los Bios.'''' Every body seemed imbued 
with a desire to bring to my notice some notable spot once cele- 
brated as gold placers, and which, if their grave statements were 
to be taken, might, with a proper amount of knowledge and en- 
terprise, be brought to produce millions. 



316 EXPLORATIONS DT HONDUEAS. 

As usual, I spread out my map of Olancho, which "became an 
object of general interest, both on this occasion and throughout 
Jutecalpa. Many came to see it, and each had some hacienda 
to insert, or some range of hills or river to suggest. The 
most ignorant understood the nature of the work, but I found 
their estimates of distances very unreliable in cases where an 
American backwoodsman would be clear and accurate. To ob- 
tain the direction to any locality, I would ask half a dozen suc- 
cessively to point out what they would consider the exact 
course, and in this particular I invariably found them to agree. 
Few knew any thing about the points of the compass, or the 
position of the north star ; but their ideas of direction were al- 
most infallible, and as reliable among themselves as the ancient 
system of navigation by the stars. On ascertaining the exact 
bearings of a place by my compass I located it on the map, and 
then pursued a separate series of questions as to what streams, 
mountains, and valleys must be crossed to reach it. The state- 
ment that a compass is valueless in the mountains of Honduras, 
owing to the mineral deposits, is simply absurd, and not entitled 
to a moment's consideration. 

I have already devoted undue space to descriptions of the 
climate of Olancho. It is because the old-fashioned and com- 
monly-received opinions regarding these " terrible tropics" have 
kept possession of the public mind, that I have endeavored to 
show that these elevated table-lands, fanned by the inx^igorating 
sea winds, are equally healthy with the delightful regions of 
Pueblo, Jalapa, and Mexico — places yet fresh in the mind of 
every American who visited them during the Mexican war. 

I do not deem it probable that Americans visiting Olancho, 
or, indeed, any part of interior Honduras, will degenerate by rea- 
son of the air or the indolent habits consequent upon association 
with the effete races of Spanish America. Over fields teeming 
with gold, the Yankee can not resist the temptation to labor, and 
it is my conviction that in Olancho alone, of all tropical Amer- 
ica, the problem of colonization by the industrious citizens of 
the North will be peacefully and effectually solved. The hills 
covered with foliage, and the plains with deep grass, preserve 
a moisture in the earth during nine months of the year (June to 
February inclusive), and the trade-winds blowing at all seasons 



THE CAPITAL OF OLANCHO. 



317 



temper the air to a delightful mean. At Jutecalpa, Lepaguare, 
Concepcion, Catacamas, or Las Flores, all of them healthy lo- 
cations, but particularly the two first named, tliriving trading- 
stations can be established, which, under the guidance of enter- 
prising Americans, and protected by a wise and stable govern- 
ment, may be increased to flourishing towns, supported by an 
unfailing supply of gold, endless cattle, horses, and mules, a 
peaceable population, and one of the most prolific agricultural 
regions in the world. 

The town of Jutecalpa, though built on the site of an ancient 
Indian village of that name, is not of such antiquity as the old 
capital of this section of Central America, Olancho, now known 
as Olanclio Yiejo or Antigua, and of which the ruins only exist 
to denote its former importance. These are situated at the foot 
of the Monte Boqueron, on the Rio de Olancho, toward Cataca- 
mas, and their description I have reserved until my narrative 
brings me to that locality. Jutecalpa, previous to the destruc- 




CALUE DE CONCEPCION, JUTECAXPA. 



tion of Olancho, was an unimportant village. Although the com- 
mercial centre of Eastern Honduras, a region comprising more 
territory than the whole of San Salvador and Costa Rica, the 
town, until lately, has not found a place on any map of Central 
America. Its very existence seems to have been ignored, like 
that of the other towns of Olancho. It has rarely been visited 
even by the few adventurous mahogany-cutters penetrating to 
the interior during the last century from the settlements at Ba- 



318 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

lize and along the eastern coast. It is now tlie head-quarters 
of traffic for the department. The town is said to have formerly- 
contained upward of eight thousand inhabitants, but the decline 
of trade, the decay of mining enterprises under the shifting re- 
publican governments, and latterly the ravages of the langostas^ 
or locusts (sweeping away whole crops in a single night), have 
combined to decrease the population of Jutecalpa to about four 
thousand, which, at times of public celebrations, is temporarily 
trebled. 

A system of roads, or rather mule-trails, centring at Jutecal- 
pa, extends over the department. Nearly all the wealthy own- 
ers of cattle estates have residences in town. 

In collecting data relating to Olancho, I was introduced to a 
Costa Hican, Seiior Opolonio Ocampo, who had been engaged 
for several years in cutting mahogany on the Guayape, Guay- 
ambre, and Jalan. I first met him at the house of Seiior Ga- 
ray, and our acquaintance ripened into an intimacy, which last- 
ed until my departure from Olancho. Liberally educated and 
intelligent, and his sagacity sharpened by intercourse with the 
London mahogany dealers at Balize, he was peculiarly quali- 
fied to obtain reliable information, which his habits of observa- 
tion had enabled him to treasure up during his constant travels 
through the interior and rafting on the Guayape and Patook 
Hivers. He had at times some hundreds of men employed in 
his cortes or cuttings on the Guayape and its tributaries. I am 
particularly indebted to Don Opolonio for minute details re- 
specting the course of the principal rivers below the points 
where I visited them. 

For several days previous to the funcion, I rode about the 
country in company with Seiior Ocampo. We usually carried 
arms, more at my suggestion than any supposition on his part 
that we should need them. While visiting the village of Jute- 
quili, about eighteen miles northwest of Jutecalpa, we encoun- 
tered on the road a vicious-looking little wild pig, which I was 
about to dose with one of my leaden pills, when Don Opolonio 
advised me to abstain, as where one of these animals was to be 
found there was often a large drove, whose courage and ferocity 
were not to be despised. I suffered the little fellow to trot into 
the bushes, but the road a few hundred yards in advance was 



THE WAEEE. 319 

shortly afterward filled with them. The animal is known on 
the coast as the Waree or Warry. I could not refrain from dis- 
mounting and leveling my rifle, despite the advice of the senor, 
and with the report the largest I could select described a series 
of rotary gallops, grunting with savage fury, and at last rolled 
over and kicked himself out of existence. It was curious to 
observe the rest of the herd as they viewed his contortions. 
Don Opolonio walked his horse slowly away, evidently determ- 
ined to place a respectful distance between himself and the 
porkers. 

As the herd did nothing but grunt and squeal, cantering 
about, and rooting at the body of their comrade, I paid the same 
compliment from beside my horse to another. The moment 
their little red eyes caught sight of me, they started full tilt aft- 
er the origin of all their trouble. I swung myself into the sad- 
dle, and, turning tail upon the advancing legion, it was a ques- 
tion of mettle between Don Opolonio and myself who should 
get over the greatest space of ground in the shortest given time. 
They followed us several hundred yards, and finding their pow- 
ers of locomotion unequal to the task, returned to the dead bod- 
ies, and recommenced their rooting. We followed them up and 
shot four, when the whole herd regarding this as very unequal 
sport, galloped away into the woods, leaving us in possession 
of the field. 

They are a brave, slender-legged, nimble creature, in shape 
something like a cross between the common pig and a porcu- 
pine, with small, wicked eyes, formidable tusks, and generally 
of a dirty brown or mud color. They run in the mountains in 
droves, where they are sometimes encountered by the lonely 
traveler, who is often obliged to take to the nearest tree for ref- 
uge, especially if he has had the temerity to shoot one of their 
number. x4.t such times he may fire away from his perch with 
perfect safety, and, though his gun may lay half their number 
low, they will continue to rush around the tree among the bod- 
ies of their slain companions, gnashing their tusks and emitting 
a low, enraged grunt, until their leader, commonly a large fero- 
cious boar, is killed, when they scamper away with all speed, 
his loss completely discouraging their porcine ferocity. 

In a domesticated state they run from door to door in the 



320 EXPLOEATIONS IN HOlNDUEAS. 

villages, devouring what ofFal may be thrown out, and disput- 
ing with the zopilotes for the office of public scavengers. The 
barelegged youngsters early learn the virtue of the waree's 
glistening teeth. The animal is rarely hunted either in Hon- 
duras or Costa Hica, where they paracularly abound, and have 
been erroneously taken for the peccary. As an illustration of 
the variety of local appellations of many animals as well as 
birds of Honduras, by which the stranger, if unacquainted with 
the language, is liable to be led to bewildering conclusions, the 
names of the waree will serve as an instance. Within a circle 
of a hundred miles he is called waree, chancha del monte, jave- 
lin, peccary, sujejina, warry, and puerco bravo. He rejoices also 
in a Latin name. 

There are numerous mines or placeres in the vicinity of Jute- 
calpa. These, however, are not very productive, and are only 
known as spots where from time to time some specks of the 
precious metal have been found. Near Monte Rosa, to the 
southeast, there are places to which the lavaderas repair after 
the freshets, and collect considerable quantities. But the labor 
of the old Spaniards, as of the women of the present time, seems 
to have been mainly directed to the sands of the streams, rather 
than to changing the course of rivers or digging deep in the dry 
ravines and gulches, where in California the greatest abundance 
is found. 

While riding to Monte Eosa with Padre Buenaventura for 
the purpose of examining these placeres, we found two children 
— girls — washing gold in the river. The little creatures had 
brought the earth in rude baskets of palm leaf from a distance 
of half a mile, and the particles of gold were plainly visible aft- 
er the operation of washing. We waited until they had finish- 
ed their work, and, at the bidding of the padre, they returned 
with us to the spot. It was on the side of a small hill, where 
the red earth indicated gold. The bed-rock here came near the 
surface, leaving the earth about a foot deep. This the little la- 
borers scraped away, and, gathering up the clayey substance 
below, swept the rock quite clean. They had thus cleared 
away a space a yard square, and from that had obtained about 
fifteen cents worth of a pure, scaly gold, beautifully yellow in 
hue, and of a quality only profitably to be worked with quick- 



THE LIQUID AMBER-TEEE. 321 

silver. The operation of "ground-sluicing" would here pay 
good wages. 

It was on this trip that I first saw the tree from which liquid 
amber distills. It is indigenous to various sections of Central 
America, but particularly to the table-lands of Olancho, where 
it is found growing in rich luxuriance amid the numberless 
bright-leaved trees forming the scenery of the department. I 
was afterward shown numbers of them on the road between 
Lepaguare and Galeras, and also in the vicinity of Catacamas. 
Most of these, however, had been tapped, and thus impaired. 
Their average height is about thirty feet, but General Zelaya 
states that in the mountains, about twenty miles to the north- 
ward of Jutecalpa, they are found from thirty to eighty feet 
high, and about three feet in diameter at the base. The trunk 
is smooth, and naked of branches for twenty feet above the 
ground, when they shoot out and upward, much like those of 
the northern pine, forming a cone of living emerald. 

The leaves have seven points, are deeply furrowed, and hang 
upon delicate slender stems. The blossom puts forth early in 
February, and at that time the tree stands peerless amid the 
surrounding foliage. The blossoms have long, pointed pink 
spears shooting from the tops of the branches, and shortly burst 
into rich globular flowers. The upper face of the leaf is glu- 
tinous and shiny, in shape not unlike the silver-leafed maple. 
The wood is hard, and, when worked, displays a fine variegated 
grain, capable of a high polish, but seldom cut or used for any 
purpose in this land of precious dye-woods, timber, and medici- 
nal plants. 

The owners of cattle estates send their mayor-domos into the 
woods to collect the gum which is found exuding from the pores 
of the tree, and often collecting, like that of the peach, in some 
knot or bruise along its smooth surface. The gum trickles 
from the incision in transparent tears down the conduits made 
by the natives, until, from a spout inserted in some convenient 
place, a pint or more is collected. By climbing to the lower 
branches a purer quality is said to be obtained. 

A rim of plantain leaves, bound tightly around the trunk and 
left for several days, is found filled with the precious distilla- 
tion. I afterward went with Julio, the mayor-domo of Lepa- 

X 



322 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

guare, about two leagues to one of these trees, where he procured 
from the leafy troughs at least a pint. The trunk of the liq- 
uid amber-tree is clammy to the touch, so that numerous living 
bees, attracted by the sweet, glutinous substance sweating from 
the pores, are found sticking helplessly to the bark. The gum, 
when bottled, becomes of the consistency of sirup. In the ca- 
ballaria of Don Francisco Zelaya there were at least two gal- 
ions used for no other purpose than to heal the wounds of 
horses, mules, and cattle. While there, I saw a drove of mares 
and colts corraled, some of them having been bitten by bats 
or torn by wild beasts. The wounds were first cleansed with 
a decoction of some healing plant gathered by one of the boys, 
and afterward smeared with liquid amber. I was assured that 
it never failed to effect a speedy cure for flesh-wounds in horses, 
and that in the mountains, when the mahogany-cutters or hunt- 
ers wounded themselves, they applied at once to this tree for 
remedios. It is sometimes mixed into a stiff gum with other 
substances, and chewed by the Indians as a preservative of the 
teeth. I saw no liquid amber except in Olancho, and, inquir- 
ing in other parts of Central America, heard that section of the 
country designated as particularly abounding with it. 

From the day of our arrival the population of Jutecalpa had 
been steadily augmenting. All was gayety and life, preparing 
for the long-contemplated funcion. The authorities met, and 
licensed the inhabitants to fire guns and bombas ; the little gar- 
xison at the cabilda, arrayed in its best, paraded the streets, and 
at intervals awoke the echoes with their field-piece, an old, rick- 
ety affair of Spanish make, and with a bore about the size of a 
common ducking-gun. In Central America they estimate can- 
non by the racket they can make. At the house of Dona Te- 
resa, across the road, a bevy of seiioritas had collected. The 
■interior, as an occasional glance from my window assured me, 
was gay with colored prints, ribbons, and shawls. People were 
crowding in from all quarters. Arrivals daily occurred from 
points fifty miles distant. The Plaza de Tows was receiving 
the finishing touch from the workmen, who had been for several 
days dragging into town, with ox and mule teams, loads of 
branches and logs to complete the inclosure. Several musicians, 
intended to officiate during the week's festivities, had called on 



PREPARING FOR THE FUNCION. 323 

Senor Garay for the customary contribution ; the great men of 
the town had been in solemn conclave at our house with the 
padres, regarding the expense of decorating the church in a man- 
ner befitting this important occasion ; the bulls (always gratui- 
tously supplied by Seiior Garay) were on their way from the 
haciendas; premonitory rockets and squibs sputtered and ex- 
ploded around the cahilda, and the usually dull, sleepy town of 
Jutecalpa presented a wonderful scene of bustle and excitement. 

During all this fuss, arrayed in his holiday garb, his lame leg 
supported by cushions, and his hanmiock arranged in such a 
way that, by pulling a string suspended from the roof, he could 
swing himself to and fro, the old gentleman kept open house, 
and distributed coin and advice to the many who daily applied 
to him. At one time a sneaking fellow would slip into the room, 
hat in hand, and, seating himself respectfully on a trunk, remain 
speechless, with his eyes fixed lackadaisically on the floor. 
When Senor Garay had completed his business with a previous 
comer, he would glance kindly toward the new applicant, light a 
fresh cigarro, and say, 

^''Ahora, amigo, que tieiies V 

At this the fellow (now sure of success) would raise his eyes, 
and reply perhaps to the eifect that the ceaseless toil to which, 
in supporting a blind mother or two young sisters, he was 
bound, together with the ravages of the locusts, had made it 
impossible for him to appropriate a 'medio for the celebration of 
the holiday for the glory of God, and, after a long story, would 
again cast down his eyes and remain silent. Upon this, the old 
man would strike with his cane upon the floor, summoning an 
Indian boy, who proceeded to open an antiquated oaken chest, 
and draw therefrom a box of copper coin. These he would 
carefully count over, and hand a liberal share to the petitioner, 
with the remark, " Yamos ! sin duda sois huen muchacho f' 
while, as he presented the gift, he would add, with a parental 
air finely in keeping with his patriarchal mien, '■'■ Acuerdate, 
Antonio, que un peso in el holsillo es el mejor amigo en el 
mundo.'''' (Remember, Antonio, that a dollar in your pocket 
is the best friend in the world.) 

The fellow, who, likely as not, is some ragamufiin of a loafer, 
calls on God to shower blessings on his venerable benefactor, 



324 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

and hastens to the Plaza, where his copper coin quickly melts 
away at the monte table. 

One of the favorite amusements of Senor Garay, and which 
he shared with the whole population of Olancho, was bull-fight- 
ing, a pastime in which, in his younger days, he had not dis- 
dained to take part, but now contented himself with witnessing 
the sports from a raised staging, erected (as regularly as the 
fiesta re-occurred) expressly for him outside the great inclosure, 
and commanding a view of the arena. Knowing this weakness, 
the bull-fighters always laid the rich Don Francisco under heavy 
contributions. He could never refuse the demands of his pets, 
whom he regarded as dedicating their lives to the amusement 
of the public, and keeping up the holy celebration of the Fun- 
cion de la Virgen. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

The Streets. — ^A Visit to the Church. — Scene in the Plaza. — Feather Robes. — 
Population of Jutecalpa. — Merry Spectacle. — The Bolero and Fandango. — 
Olancho Poetry. — A Feu de Joie. — Dinner with the Padre. — Arrival of Vis- 
itors. — Orange Mannalade. — Tamarind Ambrosia. — First Day of the Funcion. 
— How the Girls and Gallants ride. — Corraling the Bulls. — A crazy Race. — 
Church Ceremonies. — Processions. — Bull-fighting. — ^Riding a horned Steed. — 
A golden Chispa. — Pure Air. — Gold and Silver Bells. — A social Party. — '■'■ Poco 
a poco.'" — Dona Ysabel. — Buying Gold Dust. — The Valley of Concepcion. — 
More "Rainbow Sceneiy." — Racing with a Priest. — Site for an American Town. 

The streets of Jutecalpa, like those of all Spanish American 
towns, are narrow, irregularly paved, and, owing to the glare of 
the eternal whitewashed walls, hot, and generally emitting any 
thing but fragrant odors. The houses are mostly of but one 
story, and the interiors often unpaved, leaving the bare earth for 
a floor. The roofs are all tiled, which, at a short distance, 
gives an air of regularity to the town, quickly disappearing as 
you enter. From the eaves of these the people had been for 
several days suspending branches and leaves of the palm and 
cedar, while across the principal streets, from roof to roof, were 
extended cords made of some tough vine of the country, to which 
were affixed bunches of a resinous wood, to serve for torches in 
the approaching illumination. The church was quite covered 
with these festive decorations, and the portals of the edifice 



DECORATING THE CHURCH. 326 

shrouded with pine and cedar branches. The interiors of houses 
were similarly adorned, and the appearance of the town remind- 
ed me somewhat of the church-dressing at Christmas time in the 
North. 

By the invitation of Padre Buenaventura, I went to witness 
the preparations which were being made by the women of the 
town, into whose hands the church had been surrendered. The 
altar was surrounded and covered with tallow candles placed in 
small wooden holders. These unctuous illuminators were also 
liberally displayed about the walls in niches, in front of tinseled 
figures of saints, and before execrable daubs of paintings, with 
which the church was adorned. The gallery was also stuck 
around with candles. The building is lined inside with nicely- 
planed cedar boards, for the working of wliich carpenters were 
imported by the way of Truxillo from Jamaica. Altogether it 
is a very creditable building, and was ten years in process of 
construction. 

As we entered, we found perhaps two dozen women moving 
silently, with bare feet, over the tiled pavement, and under their 
hands the place had already assumed an imposing appearance. 
The padre said there would be a partial illumination on that 
evening, when some important ceremony would be performed. 
The women crossed themselves fervently as they passed the 
altar, now and then kneeling and repeating, with the volubility 
of parrots, a selection from the Missal, or bending reverentially 
toward the figure of the Virgin, whose gaudy raiment and great, 
bead-like eyes made her decidedly the lion — or lioness — of the 
occasion. She reminded me more of the figures of Mandarins, 
with the peculiar bobbing heads, than any thing else I could 
compare her to. Of course, I remained uncovered, and made 
my best bow to her ladyship. 

Toward night the whole town was in an uproar. Kockets 
and bonfires disputed possession of the air, and around the 
Plaza one might see to read as the flames darted here and 
there, and sent their light against the church walls. Every 
body who passed the sacred edifice raised his hat, and some 
kneeled when opposite the doors. Booths and gambling-tables 
were erected, as in the United States on public days. At the 
first were sold chichi, tiste, chocolate, aguardiente punch, eggs. 



326 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

sugar-candy, cakes, fire-works, fruit, and pictures of the Virgin ; 
at the gambKng-stalls stood crowds of well-formed, athletic va- 
queros, mahogany-cutters, sarsaparilla-gatherers, deer-hunters, 
and muleteers, each attended with his muchacha, gayly dressed 
for the occasion, and joining in the hearty laugh or exclamation 
of disappointment. Among them moved the more silent but 
equally vivacious and amiable Indians, from the settlements of 
las Indijenas to the eastward. Some had come even from La 
Conquista, San Estevan, and Dulcenombre, and there were nu- 
merous handsomely-dressed, fine-looking fellows from the In- 
dian head-quarters of Olancho, Catacamas. Among them might 
be seen specimens of the beautiful art apparently confined to 
the American Indian races, feather-robe-making. Some of these 
were made with rare skill, evincing a taste in the disposal and 
contrasting of colors which might have been in vain attempted 
by more cultivated artists. 

The gaudiest plumed denizens of the tropical forest are laid 
under contribution for these robes. One of the Indians, a de- 
scendant, I believe, of the Xicaque tribe, described by Juarros, 
promised me a description of the method of making them ; but 
ray new acquaintance, whom, in virtue of his promise, I had sup- 
plied with several handfuls of copper coin to "buck at monte,'' 
remained partially demented under the effect of a too fi*equent 
application to the aguardiente bottle, and at the close of the 
funcion disappeared suddenly with his companions. The robe 
which I bought of the fellow was subsequently lost from mj 
pack-saddle. 

It was now that I began to realize the extent of Olancho's 
population, and its capabilities of defense. Hundreds of horse- 
men moved about the square, displaying an equestrian grace 
which, in the cavalry charge, would make them a worthy an- 
tagonist for any mounted troops I have seen in Spanish Amer- 
ica. The streets of the town were thronged. It is this facility 
with which the people of the neighboring villages of San Fran- 
cisco, Jutequile, Mamaisaca, Los Dorillas, San Nicolas, Con- 
cepcion, and El Plomo flock into the town, that has given rise 
to the error respecting the population of Jutecalpa. The towns 
of Manto, Silca, Culmi, Yocon, Talgua, Danli, Gualaca, and 
others, also send large deputations to Jutecalpa during times of 



JUTECALPA EAMPANT. 327 

public amusement ; these, with the Indians from the Lower 
Grajape, swell the population to near three times its usual num- 
ber. The natives of distant parts of Honduras have confound- 
ed its inhabitants with those of the adjacent villages. We es- 
timated above twelve thousand souls in Jutecalpa during the 
funcion. 

The streets offered one of the gayest spectacles imaginable, 
heightened greatly by the taste of the women at such times for 
bright colors, in which I found they differed from those of Nic- 
aragua. Ribbons and flashy shawls flouted the breeze in every 
direction. Merry voices blended with the tinkling of guitars, 
the crowd swaying to and fro among horses, and mules, and 
processions, now laughing with careless mirth, or mingling the 
noisy talk with the nasal voice of the vocalist, and forming in 
little circles to witness ih% fandmigo or bolero, in which fine 
figures and spirited attitudes atoned for the lack of the graces 
of cultivation. 

By ten o'clock the fun grew " fast and furious." The festiv- 
ities are a mixture of sport and religion, in which the partici- 
pants are constantly reminded of the supremacy of the Church 
by the din of bells calling to holy exercise, the passing of pro- 
cessions, and the chanting of priests. It was a wise thought, 
that of the old padres, who, in establishing the Catholic faith in 
these countries, made every holiday to tally with some religious 
phase, so that even in the merriest moments the rites of Cathol- 
icism should be present and uppermost. 

During the day a written circular was left at Seiior Garay's 
door, of which the following is a copy, authorizing the people to 
''let themselves loose" generally, and fire muskets, pistols, or 
rockets at their pleasure. 

" Al Sr. Don Francisco Garay. 

"Decima, 
Deseando que haya alegria, 
Al principiar la funcion, 
Hoy el gremio de la Union, 
Viene a pedirle a porfia. 
Que al punto de medio dia 
En vuestra casa estareis 
Y que de alii tirareis 
La bomba, fusil, 6 caete. 
Que pago tendra el juguete 



328 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

De Maria no dudeis 

Pues, el Gremio de la Union — 

Lo festeja con porfia." 

In obedience to this mandate, we had maintained a contin- 
uous volley from pistols, rifle, and muskets until dark. Don 
Francisco, whose pride in his visitors increased proportionally to 
the row they created around his door, kept two Indian boys 
tearing up paper for wads, and in other ways attending to our 
wants. We were yet banging away when my good friend Pa- 
dre Buenaventura came up, and, taking my arm, desired me to 
accompany him in a tramp about town '■'■para ver a los Hones.''' 

This evening is called the Vespers of the Virgin. We strolled 
among the crowd, exchanging salutations, and my own import- 
ance increased considerably by intimacy with the padre. He 
was every where received with demonstrations of respect and 
affection. But the padre led me away toward the western part 
of the town, where we entered a snug little house, and showed 
me two of his children! "Ah! Padre Buenaventura," said I, 
" I thought the Catholic clergy never married." 

" Well, hijo, we do not," he replied, carelessly, and, changing 
the conversation, introduced me to an olive-hued girl, whose 
likeness to the children showed her to be the mother. "Now," 
said the padre, " I shall show you how I live. This is not my 
house, but my family resides here." 

The table was already spread, and we sat down to a repast 
of broiled chicken, wild honey, Indian bread, coffee, and cream. 
From the day of my arrival in Honduras I had enjoyed the ap- 
petite of a tiger. Such cheer as that of the padre was not long 
disappearing. After this he uncorked a bottle, and poured out 
some aguardiente, of which I judged he had already ascertained 
the quality. From here we proceeded to the Plaza, and until 
nearly midnight wandered among the swarthy groups, their faces 
lit up by the flames of homhas and bonfires. 

On the following day the daughter of Seiior Garay arrived 
from Tegucigalpa, and great were the rejoicings in the house. 
A drove of sheep was brought to the patio from the hacienda 
of Concepcion, and half a dozen selected by the old man him- 
self for the week's feasting. A fine heifer, which had been fat- 
tening for the occasion, was slaughtered, pastry made, and the 



A MODEL ENTEKTAINER. 329 

festivities, if possible, increased thenceforth. Like most of the 
viejos of Olancho, mj host was an epicure. Varieties of little 
stews and savory messes were always placed before him at table, 
which he usually desired me to assist in dispatching. 

He also possessed the art, from long practice, of concocting 
certain delicious drinks. Among these was one to which I in- 
variably paid my respects. It was made from tamarinds, and 
usually served about noon from earthen jars, wrapped in several 
thick swaths of flannel, and placed in the draft as a cooling 
process. The preparation of this beverage was simple enough. 
From a cask of the fruit, which seemed to have been crushed to 
a pulp and liberally mixed with the coarse sirup of the country, 
a quantity of thick liquor was drawn oif, in a partly fermented 
state, and diluted to a drinking consistency, which, when settled, 
was turned into jars. To this was added powdered cinnamon, 
allspice, or some fragrant herb (gathered in the neighboring hills), 
to suit the taste. The liquor, without the spices, is often used 
during and after fevers. 

Senor Garay was also very fond of a marmalade of orange, 
which he had served up in small platters every evening before 
bedtime. The preparation contained a slight infusion of va- 
nilla, and some other aromatic substance possessing narcotic 
properties, for which reason, doubtless, the old gentleman ate it 
himself, and hospitably desired his guests might sleep soundly 
during the night. 

Several beautiful tamarindos^ conspicuous for their spread 
and their pale-green leaves, straight trunks, and irregular branch- 
es, grow in the streets and gardens of Jutecalpa. The frait 
contains from four to seven seeds ; the pods, clustering luxuri- 
antly among the leaves, appear in November, and by January 
are ready for gathering. 

This was the first day of the funcion. At early dawn we 
received notice that General Zelaya, with his family and broth- 
ers, would be in town before night. Don Toribio, the second 
son of Don Chico, arrived shortly after, with a number of wom- 
en to put the house in order. L and I mounted and rode 

out toward Mamaisaca to meet the approaching cavalcade. Ten 
miles out of town we encountered them, but, to my regret, with- 
out the general. The senora was still grievously ill, and he 



330 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

dared not leave the house during her critical position. I, how- 
ever, received a flattering letter from the old gentleman, promis- 
ing me to be in town during the funcion. 

We returned with the family, and arrived about noon at a 
hard gallop. The girls rode side-saddles made in Guatemala. 
The two daughters of Don Santiago, already referred to, remind- 
ed me of the bouncing Green Mountain lasses, generally re- 
ceived as the symbol of ruddy health and good-nature. They 
were respectively seventeen and nineteen years of age, and as 
full of life and fun as kittens. Such riding as theirs ! After 
witnessing it, my chief desire was to get out of the way, to con- 
ceal my own gawky equestrianism, although, as I had flattered 
myself, it was a little tinged with the style of the ranchero of 
California. Since childhood they had lived among horses, and 
every day had scurried over the grassy plains, until to ride had 
become a second nature. They were attended by half a dozen 
country gallants from the neighboring haciendas, some of whom 
regarded my attentions to their loves with lowering brows. But, 
independent of all other considerations, had I wished to prove 
any superior claim, they needed only to touch with the spur the 
spirited animals they bestrode, and a few prances would have 
forever sealed my fate as a rival. To be a " huen jinete'"' has 
more advantages than one in Olancho ! 

On re-entering the town we found a number of horsemen 
dashing up and down the streets, apparently in the greatest ex- 
citement about something, the purport of which we hastened to 
learn. Don Toribio soon ascertained that a drove of bulls from 
one of Senor Garay's haciendas had arrived within a mile of the 
town, and that, in accordance with the immemorial custom, ev- 
ery mounted man in the city was about starting to form a tri- 
umphal procession, and drive the beasts into the corral prepared 
for their reception in the Plaza. They had only awaited our 
return to start. 

At the word, not less than three hundred men spurred out of 
the eastern end of the town, and over a boundless plain tender- 
ly carpeted with flowers and grass, and interspersed with open 
copses and groves of waving trees. Such a mad scamper, hel- 
ter-skelter, with the exultant '■'■Iloo-jpah /" issuing from a hund- 
red throats ; some mounted on half-broken horses from the 



CORRALING THE BULLS. 331 

plains, with the stare of the wild beast yet shooting from their 
eyes ; others dashing off at a tangent from the main body, and 
trusting to the superior fleetness of tlieir animals, describing a 
long circle, and again joining the onward moving mass ; here a 
mere boy sitting his leaping steed like a monkey ; there a bare- 
legged Indian straddled an equally untamed horse, without sad- 
dle or bridle, but a strong sash passed around the thighs and 
under the horse's belly, and a contrivance like a head-stall {el 
jdquemct) with which to guide him. The ground fairly trem- 
bled beneath the beating of hoofs. 

In a few minutes we reined in at the base of a gentle hill, 
where the noise of many voices and the bellowing of cattle in- 
dicated the object of our expedition. Without waiting to con- 
cert any plan of action, the whole body, now half crazy with 
excitement, plunged into the trees, from which very shortly is- 
sued a number of bulls wild from the cattle-plains, and rendered 
doubly savage by the goading and other indignities they had 
experienced on the road. Heads down and tail in air, they 
leaped away in an opposite direction from the town, and after 
them spurred the crowd, filling the air with shouts and laughter. 

Occasionally one of the bulls would charge at their pursuers, 
when a general stampede succeeded to get out of reach. Grad- 
ually the chase was headed toward Jutecalpa, and after half an 
hour's run, with numerous deviations to intercept bolting mem- 
bers, the monarchs of the herd were driven into the town, where 
thousands hastened out on foot to view them from places of se- 
curity. Here Senor Garay, mounted on a gentle, easy-paced 
mule, joined the cavalcade, and assisted in the ceremony of cor- 
raling the bulls, his part consisting in shouting with the lungs 
of a line-of-battle ship's boatswain, and responding with beam- 
ing smiles to the salutations of all. He was universally known, 
and had claimed the monopoly of supplying the bulls for the 
funciones for half a century, as his ancestors had done before 
him by hereditary right. 

By this time the Church ceremonies had commenced, and all 
who could not get inside stood reverentially in the Plaza, with 
heads uncovered, responding fervently, and crossing themselves 
at intervals. Don Toribio smuggled us in through a side en- 
trance, whence we ascended into the choir. All light of day had 



332 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

been excluded from the building, and a thousand candles shed a 
pale light upon the tinsel and gilt around the altar. These peo- 
ple seemed to me less priest-ridden than any other Central 
Americans I had seen — faithful observers of the ceremonies, but 
not slaves to the behests of the Church. 

The women, neatly clad in shawls of bright colors, kneeled 
face to the altar, murmuring sotto voce, their responses producing 
the peculiar humming heard in crowded assemblages. The ser- 
mon was delivered by the talented young Padre Cubas, and was 
attentively listened to by all classes. Although Olancho is a 
democratic aristocracy, all social divisions are forgotten at the 
church door, and rich and poor kneel side by side. 

The frankincense used in the censers of the Church is the pro- 
duct of a small tree growing in the savannas of Olancho, and 
generally found near the gum Arabic bush. It is gathered in 
rough, pale-yellow pieces, resembling parched corn, and exposed 
for sale in Tegucigalpa and Jutecalpa. Its perfume is very 
grateful, and is used as a fumigator in sick-rooms in the larger 
Central American cities. The estoraque, or resin of the Styrax 
officinalis, is also burnt in the churches. Several kinds of this 
are found in Olancho. They are known under the general name 
of incienso. This church has but one article of value, consist- 
ing of a massive golden chain, with jeweled ornaments attached, 
said to have been presented by the robber Quijano on his death- 
bed, and in consideration of which prayers are ever after said 
for his soul. 

The services over, t|ie rest of the day was devoted to pleasure 
and merry-making. Passing into the Plaza, I found myself in 
company with twenty mounted gentlemen, some of them sons 
of rich haeendados. The bull-fighting was not to take place 
until the following day; so, joining them, we rode about the lit- 
tle town, my companions, who seldom visited Jutecalpa, improv- 
ing their time to see all the sport possible. Races were run, the 
competitors joining hands, and riding at top speed, side by side, 
four and six abreast. A procession of masks set the town in a 
roar with their local jests, and our party of roysterers exchanged 
smart jokes with every pretty face they met. The women got 
up a procession, carrying the Virgin, dressed in the exaggerated 
finery of a country belle, for which service they expected to re- 



THE BULL-FIGHT. 



333 



ceive her special aid and assistance on future occasions of diflS- 
culty. 

As darkness approached, the scene of the previous night was 
renewed, but with treble enthusiasm. An illuminated transpa- 
rency, representing a full- sized bull, was borne through the 
streets, accompanied by wind and string instruments and a 
crowd of people. Later, his buUship was placed over one of the 
numerous bonfires, where he disappeared in a whirl of smoke 
and flame. 

^%gp. -._ On the following day, 

^^ a^ ' the rattle of the drum and 

^ --- , 7:.^v ^ noise of horsemen awoke 

us at an early hour. At 
ten o'clock the first bull 
was let into the Plaza, in 
which were two picadores, 
and an equal number of 
mounted men with lances. 
All Jutecalpa crowded to- 
ward the square. The bal- 
cony on the second story of 
Senor Gardela's house was 
411ed with showily-dressed 
ladies of the best families, 
and the veranda below oc- 
cupied by the not less 
^a.Vintmg rriujeres del pais. The heavy oak-barred fence con- 
structed for the occasion was thick with people, perched in 
every conceivable place whence a fair view might be obtained 
of the sports. 

The bulls had been kept blindfolded and without food since 
the previous day, and were now roaring with rage. The first 
one, having his blindfold removed, and no longer imprisoned by 
the bars, ran quickly out, and trotted with a lordly, defiant air 
about the Plaza. The bull-fighters stood on their guard. Sud- 
denly he made a quick run at the nearest man, who dodged him, 
and made for a triangle of heavy posts in the centre of the in- 
closure ; but, before he could reach them, his pursuer had knock- 
ed him heavily to the earth. The infuriated creature inserted 




BUIX-FIGHT IN JTJTEOALPA. 



334 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

his horns beneath his body, balanced him a moment, and sent 
him like a rocket into the air. The other combatants rushed in 
and drew off the attention of the animal while the wounded man 
was borne away. Several ribs were broken, and an arm, besides 
internal injuries, and he died next day. 

This unfortunate commencement threw a chill over the sports 
for a while, but the circumstance was soon forgotten, and the 
usual tormenting of the animals continued. The entertainment 
of bull-fighting, unless conducted on the scale of the great ex- 
hibitions at Cadiz and Madrid, soon cloys on the taste of the 
stranger. The ceremony of saddling and riding the bull exhib- 
its a temerity and reckless courage one is quite unprepared for. 
A horseman throws his lazo over the horns of the bull, and, 
tossing the end to the crowd through the bars, the animal is 
dragged, bellowing and struggling, to the fence, where his head 
is held firmly down while a strong saddle or albardo is lashed 
to his back ; the stirrups are shortened, and into this gets some 
hair-brained vaquero without a moment's hesitation. The noose 
is detached, and away springs the mad beast, rearing, plunging, 
and moaning with rage. Contortions and leaps are powerless 
to dislodge the imp astride his back, whose life depends upon 
his agility and coolness. He excites the applause of the spec- 
tators by stretching himself at length on the bull's back, or beat- 
ing him over the head and horns with a small club carried for 
the purpose. When weary of the sport, the horned steed is 
dragged as before to the fence, and the boy dismounting, some 
other takes his place, or the beast is attacked after the usual 
method of the corrida de toros. 

At night the air was ablaze with rockets, squibs, and serpents. 
For seven days the festivities were continued; horse-racing, 
processions, and feasting by day, and dancing and social parties 
by night. My boys, Victor and Koberto, were wild with delight 
during this time. In sober-sided Tegucigalpa they had never 
seen any thing equaling the pell-mell, off-hand style of Jutecal- 
pa. They would both have quickly sacrificed their wages to the 
fascinations of monte had I been willing to advance the money. 
On my refusal, the scamps resorted to trickery, and applied to me 
for money to buy medicine. I soon after saw my gentlemen 
hazarding their copper coin at the resistless table. Spaniards 



GAMBLING WITH NUGGETS. 335 

and tlieir descendants are born gamblers. They inherit the 
passion from the adventurous spirit of tlie old hidalgos. 

While watching the excited faces of the players during the 
fiesta^ I observed one of the crowd to place a bit of gold upon 
the table, with which he won a handful of coin. The circum- 
stance reminded me so much of " '49 and '50" in California, 
that I almost imagined myself in the famous El Dorado of San 
Francisco, or the Round Tent of Sacramento. I w^atched the 
boy until he had finished his game, and then drawing him 
aside, asked him where he had obtained the specimen I had seen. 
"Near the Rio de Sspana,'" said he ; "I often go there when 
I am out of money, and dig for a day or two ; but it is a wom- 
an's business, that gold- digging," he added, rather disdainfully. 
I asked to see the piece he had staked at the gaming-table, 
upon which he produced it, with several smaller pieces. The 
largest was about the size of a walnut, and weighed, by the 
scales in Seiior Mateas Polvon's store, above half an ounce. 
He had already disposed of several other pieces to the small 
traders in Jutecalpa, and willingly exchanged what remained 
for silver coin. 

This gold, which I carried, with other specimens, to Califor- 
nia, and which has since been taken to New York, was of ex- 
treme purity. The same may be said of that found throughout 
the valley of the Guayape. Its hue is bright yellow, and only 
the smaller particles are polished by attrition. The larger 
pieces have evidently been taken out in dry diggings, as they 
exhibit a rough exterior, and only worn in a few places by the 
action of rains or wet sand. Some of the specimens taken from 
the beds of rivers are shaped like muskmelon seeds, but the 
greater number were of irregular forms, bright as new gold coin, 
having apparently lain in some pot-hole or whirlpool, where the 
rotary motion of the water and sand had burnished them for many 
successive years. These samples assayed 910 thousandths fine, 
equal to a value of $18 81 per ounce, which is considerably 
above the average of California gold. The assay of Mr. Hews- 
ton, of the U. S. Branch Mint, will be found in the pages de- 
voted to mineral subjects. 

During my stay in Olancho I often found the weather un- 
comfortably cold, so that the scanty bed-clothing with which I 



336 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

had passed through the lowlands of Nicaragua and Southern 
Honduras was insufficient, and I was obliged to make use of 
coats and other appliances to keep warm at night. There were 
showers of rain at intervals, but usually a cold, clear sky in the 
morning, which, as the sun ascended, mellowed the fresh atmos- 
phere into a crisp and balmy state, possessing a peculiarly sooth- 
ing influence on the mind, and leaving the effect of soft rain-wa- 
ter on the skin. Such weather lasted through the funcion. 
The lively racket of the earlier celebrators always brought me 
out into a shivering cold air, and there were usually some half- 
naked little muchachos adding fuel to a fire blazing in the j)a- 
tio. At night the bonfires on the Plaza served the double pur- 
pose of an illumination and warming the surrounding groups. 
Even the dresses of the better classes were the exact opposite 
of tropical raiment. Instead of thin white suits, with an im- 
mensity of shirt-bosom displayed from a gauze jacket cast open 
to receive every breath of the heated air, the upper classes of 
Olancho were clad in suits of cloth, with waistcoats of the same 
material, and odd-looking English stove-pipe hats. In a word, 
the fashionable dresses were rather those of a temperate climate. 

The bells of the church at Jutecalpa were cast many years 
since, and stories are yet recounted of the pious contributions 
of the women, who, to propitiate the Virgin, enriched the liquid 
metal during the process of smelting with dust and chispas of 
gold. Every hacendado in that section of the department gave 
something. There is above 1 cwt. of copper and silver in the 
four, and doubtless a considerable amount of gold. The copper 
was obtained from the mines near the valley of Uloa belonging 
to General Zelaya. It was taken out under his direction, and 
sent to town with great ceremony during the smelting. The 
tone of the bells is mellow and deep, indicating the presence of 
copper and silver. 

It would be tedious here to enumerate the various amuse- 
ments, social parties, and adventures of all kinds occurring dur- 
ing my visit to Jutecalpa. Though serving to illustrate the 
character and customs of the people, they would prove but rep- 
etitions of scenes already described. The routine of my life 
among these hospitable people consisted in exchanging for- 
mal visits, making long horseback excursions into the coun- 



A POPULAK FAVORITE. 337 

try bordering the Guayape and Jalan rivers, writing, searching 
the old hieroglyphical records of the department, map-making, 
nete-taking, negotiating with the Zelayas, and "talking up" the 
enterprise and industry of los Americanos del N'orte at all 
times and in all places. Intelligent people entered cordially 
into my views, and met me more than half way in consumma- 
ting them. Whichever way I turned, kindness and simple hos- 
pitality awaited me, and I am unable at this moment to recall 
any act of rudeness or insult during my visit at Olancho. I 
should except one instance, where a httle Indian, attached to 
the city residence of General Zelaya, was unable to resist the 
temptation of a pocket-knife which I left on a table. The theft 
got to the ears of Don Francisco, who had the trembling culprit 
brought before him, where he was thrashed like a sack until he 
revealed the hiding-place of the stolen property. My interces- 
sions were in vain. The hospitality of the old gentleman had 
been violated by one of his household, and nothing could save 
the offender from chastisement. 

Toward the close of the J^uncion, General Zelaya arrived at 
Jutecalpa, leaving the senora at Lepaguare, where she was yet 
ill. Hearing he was on the way, a little party went to meet 
him on the road. As we re-entered the town, which was while 
the Plaza was filled with people, a general shout, " Yiva el 
General Zelaya r attested to his popularity. He rode a splen- 
did black horse, and received the congratulations of his friends 
with pride and pleasure. 

At his house a grand ball was given on the evening of the 
day following his ai-rival. As many as could crowd into the 
house were there ; and after the dancing, when the guests had 
departed, the general requested a few of his friends to remain, 
and I had the good fortune to be included among the number. 
A great bowl of poncha de aguardiente was concocted, the 
fumes of which entered the heads of the guests, and the night 
was spent in songs, guitar-playing, story-telling, and merry- 
making generally. If I add that an occasional song in " bar- 
barous English" mingled with the more liquid and silvery Span- 
ish, it will serve to illustrate with how little a good-natured and 
laughter-loving audience can be pleased. Then, too, any mis- 
take in Tom Moore's words, or the less classic " nigger miur 

Y 



338 EXPLOEATIONS IN HOKDUEAS. 

strelsy," was, under these circumstances, exempt from criticism. 
Be sure, reader, who may hereafter visit flowery Olancho, that 
to sing a song, preserve a confident face, and touch a chord or 
two on the guitar, will be no drawback to success or a kind re- 
ception. 

General Zelaya was no exception to the '•^■jpoco a pocd'^ rule 
of Spanish Americans. At Lepaguare he had promised to bring 
all the necessary papers with him to Jutecalpa; at Jutecalpa 
he insisted that quiet Lepaguare was the only place for con- 
cluding a contract. Any attempt to hurry an Olanchano 
would be but the preliminary step to the destruction of what- 
ever enterprise you may have in hand. An exhibition of Yan- 
kee promptness or hurry stamps you as a frivolous, superficial 
fellow. Accordingly, I swallowed my impatience, joined in the 
fun, and dismissed all nervous anxiety in regard to expectant 
friends at home, resolved to " stick" to Olancho until I had my 
contract " signed, sealed, and delivered." 

I was not altogether sorry at the delay ; for, setting aside the 
actual pleasure of existence in these delightful elevated lands, I 
was anxious to make a trip down to the Indian town of Cata- 
camas, also to visit the ruins of Olancho A.ntigua, the former 
capital of the department, and to make a personal inspection of 
the rapids, or chifiones, said to exist below the junction of the 
Guayape and Guayambre. I was desirous of ascertaining 
whether they could also be ascended by light-draft steamers. 
Hearing one day of an old woman at Concepcion (a small vil- 
lage eight miles southwest of Jutecalpa) who had some speci- 
mens of gold, I started, with the Padre Buenaventura, toward 
the valley of that name, desiring to see the famous plain through 
which the Guayape flows, and also to purchase specimens of the 
gold. 

A leisurely ride of two hours brought us to the village of Con- 
cepcion, where we dismounted at the door of La Senora Ysabel. 
The venerable dame came forward, welcomed the padre with a 
voice like the croak of an expiring raven, and then, shading her 
eyes with her hand, wrinlded up her features, and took a scru- 
tinizing look at the stranger. I made her a low bow and pass- 
ed the usual compliments, at which, imagining that she recog- 
.nized in me the Seiior P from Tegucigalpa, and, but for 



SUNSET AT CONCEPCION. 339 

an adroit movement to the rear on my part, would have em- 
braced me with a more ardent affection than I was anxious to 
receive. 

Undeceived in this respect, she invited us inside, and as we 
had yet to proceed some distance farther before returning, the 
padre made no delay in imparting the object of our visit. She 
took down firom a jog in an obscure comer an oaken box, from 
which she drew a smaller one, which I thought had once con- 
tained pills. From this she turned out upon the table a little 
heap of gold dust, consisting of bits from an impalpable dust 
to the value of a dollar. In shape and color they resembled 
those already described as coming from the Guayape and its 
tributaries. 

Her daughters, she said, had been lavaderas for some years, 
and were now absent on one of the tributaries of the Jalan. 
After a little haggling, I purchased the lot, amounting to about 
two ounces, at the rate of $12.75 per ounce. As we passed 
through the village, the padre exchanged very unclerical glances 
with more than one of the female portion of his flock. 

The scenery from any part of the valley of Concepcion is 
charming. It is a blending of the most delicately penciled hills, 
forming an amphitheatre, with a vernal plain of surpassing lux- 
uriance. The chain of Carbonal Mountains runs to the south- 
west along the Jalan ; their highest peak (called the "Mountain 
of Roses," from the abundance of wild flowers adorning its 
slopes) bearing nearly east from the village, and the Jalan be- 
yond flowing placidly to its junction with the Guayape below 
Jutecalpa. 

We cantered easily along toward an island or mound of green 
trees some ten feet higher than the plain. From here the view 
was so exquisite that I determined to remain and witness the 
sunset. The valley, far as the eye could reach, was a wavy 
carpet of emerald, with blue and purple hills tumbled up from 
the farther extremity to an altitude of 1200 feet, and covered 
with densely-leaved trees. This carpet was stepped upon by 
some three thousand cattle, and unnumbered horses and mules, 
while flocks of sheep and goats, returning from the day's pastu- 
rage, moved slowly toward the corral ; for the coyote and wolf 
are abroad in Olancho, and ever on the alert for unguarded 



340 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

flocks. The whole picture was the quintessence of pastoral 
beauty. 

The setting sun shed long streaks of golden light through the 
vistas and avenues formed loy the trees, and a gentle westerly 
wind tempered the air and played lazily among the leaves. Our 
horses, which the padre had provided (not suffering me to use 
my own), seemed to enjoy the landscape as much as ourselves. 
Leaving our little oasis, if such a term can be applied to a spot 
situated on a plain itself an oasis, we gave the rein to our ani- 
mals, and away we streamed, I on a strong-limbed dark bay, and 
the padre, who rode splendidly, on a beautiful tordillo, which he 
never allowed to be backed by any one but himself. Our race- 
course was without impediment of rock or ravine, and the pa- 
dre, who had not yet satisfied himself about my equestrian ac- 
complishments, looked back as he shot past me to see how his 
competitor fared. His shovel hat and sober garb, with the ease 
of his seat, reminded me of some descriptions of fighting friars 
during the Mexican war. He looked a very Padre Jaurata. 
His horse had decidedly the advantage, and would have contin- 
ued his slapping pace quite to the Guayape, had not the setting- 
sun and the fading of painted Monte Rosa into the dusky night- 
shades warned us that we had yet some distance to travel back 
to Jutecalpa. 

Stopping at a small hacienda to buy some sweet limes, we 
cantered homeward, and, crossing the Rio de Jutecalpa again, 
entered the town. The valley of Concepcion is principally the 
property of Senor Garay, and he expressed his willingness to 
have the plain the site of a future American town. Jutecalpa, 
he thought, would not please the Americans, and he repeatedly 
offered to give me the whole valley when I should return with 
a colony. There is said to be a wagon road nearly the whole 
distance from Concepcion to La Confluencia, crossing a few 
unimportant streams, and following the westerly bank of the 
Guayape. The plain around Concepcion is about ninety feet 
higher than that of Jutecalpa, and is said to be cooler, but I 
could perceive no material difference. The valley is reckoned 
one of the best grazing-grounds in all Olancho. 



VALUABLE WOODS. 341 



CHAPTEB, XIX. 

Precious Woods of Olancho.— The " Cortes."— El Retire— A Gold Mill.— An 
Olancho Machinist. — Monte Rosa. — Boxwood. — Valley of the Guayape. — San 
Francisco. — Rio Jalan. — A Forest Scene. — The Mahogany Trade. — Corte 
Sara. — Preparing for the Cutting. — ^Las Tortilleras. — Location of the Cortes. 
— Roads. — Cutting. — Sawing. — Dragging. — Rafting. — Pipantes. — Navigating 
the Patook. — Rio' Jalan. — Its Gold Placers. — Americans in Olancho. — The 
Guayape Gold Region. — Red Plumiria. — Wild Silk. — Arcma de Seda. — Route 
along the Jalan. — Quebracha. — A Fandango. — Lake of Quebracha. — Don Ga- 
briel. — Hard Fare. — Baked Armadillo. — A Golden Legend. — Hunting. — Tou- 
can. — Tapir. — Blue- winged Teal. — Wild Turkey. — Birds of Olancho. — Tapis- 
cuinte. — Familiar Animals. 

Some weeks after my arrival at Jutecalpa, I received an invi- 
tation from my friend, Senor Ocampo, to visit with him the ma- 
hogany-cutting or bank on the River Jalan, known as Corte 
Sara. I had had frequent conversations with him respecting 
the various localities where his men were at work. These were 
the cortes Mescales (near the mouth of the river of Catacamas), 
Frio, on the river of that name falling into the Guayambre, and 
Sara, on the Jalan. The name of the fourth, near a little vil- 
lage called Alajagua, I have neglected to note, as also the loca- 
tion of the village. Senor Ocampo is also the proprietor of a 
corte on the Lower Guayape, known as Las Guapinoles. 

In estimating the resources of the region drained by the Pa- 
took, Poyas, and Aguan Rivers, the precious woods are proba- 
bly entitled to particular consideration (even taking precedence 
of the minerals), from their vast quantity, rarity, and accessibil- 
ity. Besides the familiar woods, such as mahogany, rosewood, 
lignum Yitse, Brazil-wood, logwood, oak, cedar, and ebony, there 
are a variety of valuable kinds almost unknown to trade or man- 
ufacture, which, as Honduras becomes better known, will be 
brought into general use. Some of these bearing the local 
names wiU be hereafter enumerated among the natural produc- 
tions of the country. The cutting and exportation of mahoga- 
ny is perhaps the most important branch of industry and com- 
merce. In a country so favored by Nature as Olancho, drained 



342 



EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDURAS. 



hj rivers connecting its farthest interior with the sea, and trav- 
ersed by vast belts of the most valuable woods known, the bus- 
iness growing out of such advantages can not fail to take pre- 
cedence of all others. Extraordinary inducements have been 
held out by the government for the enterprise of foreigners, and 
a glance at the extent of territory embraced by Olancho shows 
the cutting of mahogany to be as yet but in its infancy. 

Knowing that I should not have time to visit more than one 
cutting, I accepted with alacrity the invitation of Seiior Ocampo 
for a journey to Corte Sara. Obliged, as usual, to leave my 
horse, I was furnished with a strong mule, and, accompanied by 
my boy Roberto and two mahogany-cutters of Don Opolonio, 
we set forth at daybreak, in order to reach the hacienda of San 
Francisco by nightfall, the road leading over the mountain range 
trending away from Monte Rosa. 

A short ride took us well into the picturesque valley of Con- 
cepcion, which after traversing some ten miles through herds 
of cattle, winding among acacias and a variety of gum-trees and 




I'KIillTIVE CEU8HING MILL. 



MINING MACHINERY. 



343 



bushes, we came to the nearest ford, a celebrated mining lo- 
cality known as El Retiro. Here a Seiior Marano had erect- 
ed a rude arrastre or mill, consisting of two large rocks attach- 
ed to the ends of a vertical beam, and dragged around in a cir- 
cular trough, carried by the waters of a riachtielo flowing into 
the Guayape. The empresario (such he called himself) regard- 
ed his crazy bit of machinery with a self-satisfied smile, and in- 
quired if the art of mining had reached that point in el Norte. 
I assured him it had not, and, as usual, loaded his work with 
praises, which so gratified him that he brought out a calabash 
of tiste from his branch hut for us. The Guayape is here a 
slow-flowing, magnificent stream, and during the heavy rains 
must carry an immense body of water. At the time we visited 
it there were occasional showers, the last of the rainy season. 
The banks on the opposite side from where we stood were yet 
matted with the dried debris of the late floods, showing, at an 
elevation of twenty-five feet above the river's present level, where 
the waters had poured toward the ocean with a depth capable 
of bearing the steamers of the Mississippi on their bosom. 

Sehor Marano had scraped 
a hole into the hill adjoining 
the river, from which he 
brought out, with the aid of 
two workmen, a species of 
soft red rock, in which the 
particles of gold were con- 
tained. I wondered at such 
a display of energy ; but he 
quickly replied, "I am a Gua- 
temalan, senor ; these Olan- 
chanos would scarcely at- 
tempt, I imagine, such ma- 
chinery as that ! " The self- 
complacency of the speaker 
was exquisite. I would not 
have lost the speech for the 
results of a week's labor with 
his miserable contrivance of 
rocks, thongs of hide, and tree- 




BEEAKINa OBE. 



344 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

trunks. He managed, he said, to grind up about five cwt. of 
rock per day, from which he sometimes got from two to five 
dollars worth of gold, and sometimes ^'•nada, naditcC (nothing — 
very nothing). Quicksilver he had never used, and generally 
reduced the pulverized rock by the ordinary panning process — 
with hateas. He was very anxious to have me remain and ex- 
amine the country in that vicinity ; "and, above all," said he, 
"do not fail to bring your great company here to work this 
vein." So we parted, and I afterward heard wonderful stories 
about El Retiro and its former wealth. 

I saw enough, however, to convince me that, with a Califor- 
nian quartz-crusher capable of working thirty or forty tons of 
rock a day, to replace the primitive contrivance of Seiior Marano, 
this, among other localities, could be made to yield a fortune to 
the adventurous miner. 

My new acquaintance promised to have some specimens for 
me on my return, and, after an exchange of cigar7'os, and a 
hearty " to God'''' from the senor, we entered the river, and 
forded it, with the water nearly deep enough to float away our 
animals. From the eastern bank we began a gentle ascent to- 
ward the range of Monte Rosa, the slope of the hills wooded 
with pine, cedar, mahogany, and the usual variety of the Olan- 
cho forest. Here I first noted the boxwood-tree, used for en- 
graving. The tree is tall, with bright, smooth, yellow bark. A 
likeness of President Cabanas is said to have been taken by an 
American at Comayagua on boxwood found in the valleys of 
Western Honduras. 

Monte Rosa is about 1600 feet above the plain of Jutecalpa, 
and from its summit is obtained the most superb view imagin- 
able : range upon range of blue mountains, intersected witli 
belts of silver, denoting the courses of the principal rivers, and 
the cattle-plains spreading out like flower-gardens among them. 
Below us, to the right and left, flowed the Guayape and Jalan, 
while far away the broken ridges showed where these and the 
Guayambre, joining their waters toward the northeast, formed 
the great Patook, passing now through extensive plains, or 
thridding the rocky passes of the dividing ridges. 

Descending by a tortuous path, we struck off" to the northeast, 
toward the hacienda of San Francisco, eight miles distant, which 



IN THE DEEP FOREST. 345 

point we reached about sundown, having performed since morn- 
ing, via El Retiro, a distance of some twenty-two miles. San 
Francisco is the property of Sehor Bustillos, and is one of three 
estates belonging to him. It was quite dark when we arrived, 
and, after a hasty meal, I was glad to tumble, half asleep, into 
my hammock, without troubling myself about the beauties or 
oddities of the place. 

Roberto awoke me at early dawn, and, after an ablution in 
the brook flowing into the Jalan, we started for the corte. 
The hacienda stands at the entrance of a dense growth of trop- 
ical forest, in which the mahogany was the predominating tree. 
The surrounding mountains, densely wooded, were, as the Tnay- 
or-domo informed us, a famous locality for the vanilla plant. 
These mountains are a low, semicircular range, shooting off from 
Monte Rosa and the Carbonales. Don Opolonio here negotiated 
for a few head of cattle, which accounted for his deviation to the 
northward from the road to Sara. 

The Jalan at Corte Sara is a considerable river. It flows 
slowly and deeply to the northward through a hilly, undulating 
country, and is here crossed with a pvpante, or canoe. Cattle 
have often died here, becoming stuck in the alluvion bordering 
the stream, where they resort to drink. For several miles to the 
north and west, and for an unknown distance eastward toward 
the Guayambre, the country is a dense forest, out of which the 
large rafts of mahogany and other valuable woods are obtained, 
floating down that river and the Jalan to the Guayape. 

It is impossible to convey any adequate idea of the solemn 
grandeur of these forests ; darkness, even at midday, envelops 
their dusky vistas ; no temple reared by art could equal the awe- 
inspiring sublimity of their cathedral arches, no organ compete 
with the swelling anthems of the wind rolling and rustling 
among their venerable trees. Long, pendent ropes of laines 
droop from the lofty limbs to the ground, presenting a lace-work 
of green leaves and vines, interspersed with spots of red and 
purple, to indicate the presence of rare and nameless flowers. 
The night-blooming cereus, and the pasalte, spotted like the 
wing of a gorgeous butterfly, mingled their hues with the luxu- 
riant air-plant, the whole viewed as through a glass darkened. 
The ceibas, of lofty proportions, with hanging gardens made by 



346 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

the rooting of parasites among their limlbs, stand bearing aloft 
great mats of verdure, far beyond the reach of man except 
when leveled by the axe. Through the roots, at long inter- 
vals, I noticed, as we traversed them, the remains of roads lead- 
ing to the now discarded cortes, from the vicinity of which all 
the available timber had been cut. Even Corte Sara itself, 
Senor Ocampo said, was becoming exhausted, and doubtlcos, ere 
this, has been abandoned. About forty men are employed by 
Senor Ocampo at Corte Sara. This is one of twelve cortes in 
the entire department. 

Without doubt, Olancho takes precedence of all other sections 
of Central America as a mahogany-producing region, its allu- 
vions and the banks of all its rivers bearing inexhaustible for- 
ests. This tree rises in majestic beauty above the surrounding 
woods, and, excepting the palm, is the tallest of the vegetable 
kingdom in Honduras. Its branches spread far and wide, am- 
ply clothed with perpetual foliage, and, aside from being an im- 
portant article of export, its wood serves many purposes of life, 
such as handles for tools and weapons, canoes, building materi- 
al, and household furniture.* 

Along the entire coast, from the Motagua to Cape Gracias a 
Dios, the rivers are bordered with forests of mahogany, and, 
though not in equal quantities, those discharging into the Pa- 
cific are found also to abound in this valuable timber. The 
Ulua, Chamelicon, and its lower tributaries, the Limon, Roman 
or Aguan, the Tinto or Black River, the Guayape or Patook, 
and the Great Wanks, flowing into the Caribbean Sea, are each 
the scene of mahogany-cutting operations, which, greatly in- 
creasing in the last thirty years, have scarcely made a mark in 

* " It is one of the most majestic and beautiful of trees. Its trunk is often 40 
feet in length and 6 feet in diameter, and it divides into so many massy arms, 
and throws the shade of its shining green leaves over so vast an extent of sur- 
face, that few more magnificent objects are to be met with in the vegetable world. 
Honduras mahogany is in logs from 2 to 4 feet square, and 12 to 14 feet long ; 
but some logs are much larger. Like the pine, it thrives best on dry, rocky soil, 
or exposed situations. That which is most accessible in Honduras grows upon 
low, moist land, and is decidedly inferior to that brought from Hayti and Cuba. 
But the Honduras has the advantage of holding glue admirably, and is, for this 
reason, frequently used as a ground on which to lay veneers of the finer sorts. 
The produce of one tree was once 3 logs 15 feet long and 38 inches square." — 
Lib. Ent. Knowl., vol. on Timber, Trees, and Fruits. 



THE MAHOGANY BUSINESS. 347 

the boundless wilds teeming with this and other precious 
woods. Some of the most accessible locations are yet virgin 
forest, untouched, and will doubtless remain so for many years. 
On the Ulua, Mr. Follen, American consul, is said to have con- 
ducted the most extensive cuttings in the country, the govern- 
ment having granted him valuable privileges for certain consid- 
erations. Much of the wood is shipped direct to the United 
States, though considerable quantities reach Balize, in Yucatan, 
and help to make up the extensive cargoes which for many 
years have gone from that port to Europe. Within five years, 
in connection with Seiior Fernandez, two Englishmen have es- 
tablished mahogany-cuttings on the Roman, the proceeds being 
rafted to the bar of the river, where it is said vessels of two 
hundred tons may load. 

Stations also exist on the Black River ; those on the Wanks 
have of late years been obstructed by the rafts of drift-wood 
which have accumulated at the mouth of the river. The Wanks 
mahogany trade was formerly of sufiicient importance to pay for 
the cutting of a navigable canal from the main river into the lit- 
tle anchorage of Gracias a Dios, through which rafts were con- 
ducted to the shipping. This is reported to be filled up by the 
alluvial deposit from above. 

On the Pacific coast of Central America, bordering the Bay 
of Fonseca, the mahogany trade has been attempted with some 
success since the establishment of the California trade. Several 
cargoes have been shipped both to California and Peru. Rafts 
of mahogany, brought from the low lands about the Rivers Goas- 
coran and Choluteca, are landed at Tigre Island, towed by bon- 
gos across the bay to the saw-mill at the free port of Amapala, 
where limited quantities are sawed. Near Acajutla, a sea-port 
of San Salvador, are forests of mahogany and other valuable 
woods, which at this time are exciting the attention of San Fran- 
cisco capitalists ; but the mahogany trade on the Pacific side of 
Central America will yet require many years to become remu- 
nerative and permanent, there being no sure market for the wood, 
and no attempt having been made, as in Brazil-wood and log- 
wood in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, to ship it to Europe. 

On the coast of the Caribbean it forms the most remunerative 
business, and is the chief source of the revenue of the republic 



348 EXPLOEATIONS Ef HONDUEAS. 

of Honduras. The export duty is inconsiderable, collected by 
officers who are easily bribed, so that not a tithe of the taxes is 
ever collected. Capital, and great intelligence and industry, are 
requisite for the successful prosecution of the mahogany busi- 
ness. One Gorte^ or bank, often employs during the season from 
thirty to fifty workmen, who are paid weekly, and supplied with 
provisions packed and dragged over made roads, or carried in 
canoes many leagues into the interior. 

In times of scarcity these supplies must be brought 'vQ.jpvpan~ 
tes, orpitpans, from the sea-ports, or up the rivers from vessels 
anchored at the bar, a journey often exceeding a month down 
and back. Most of the cutting done in Honduras is under the 
auspices of English and European houses. The mode of cut- 
ting and sending mahogany to market is nearly the same in all 
parts of the Spanish Main. In Balize, Tabasco, and other more 
frequented depots, modem improvements are doubtless intro- 
duced ; but the method now pursued on the Guayape, Jalan, and 
Guayambre will perhaps serve to illustrate that of Honduras, 
or at least the eastern section, which is, as yet, the scene of lim- 
ited operations. 

The routine of seasons allows but six months in the year for 
the business. Early in December the proprietor of the corte 
commences to assemble his people, many of whom are Jamaica 
blacks, whose habits and muscular proportions peculiarly fit 
them for such laborious work. At this time the proceeds of 
the last season's work have usually been expended in gay re- 
gatta shirts, red sashes, and various articles of finery for them- 
selves and women, or oftener has disappeared at the monte-tsi- 
ble, so that at the call of the ■patron all are ready to renew the 
toil. All useless articles are left behind, the laborers working 
in nearly a state of nature. 

The cortes are but temporary villages of palm-thatched huts, 
placed as near to the river as the locality of the best timber will 
permit. Most of the choppers are obtained from Jutecalpa, and 
the bustle of preparation wonderfully enlivens that place for a 
few days previous to their departure, when, accompanied by a 
number of women {tortilleras), the parties make for their re- 
spective cortes, under the guidance of the woodman or hunter, 
who is usually selected from among the most experienced and 
intelligent of the Jamaicans. 



PREPARING FOR THE CUTTING. 349 

Seiior Ocampo's gangs were subdivided into bands of eight 
or ten each, with its leader or " boss ;" the women, acting the 
part of cook, receive the weekly rations from the steward of the 
GOrte, and are paid a small salary for this duty. Attempts have 
been made to introduce corn-grinding machines, and thus dis- 
pense with the women, who, it appears, do not confine their tal- 
ents to culinary avocations, and are the fruitful theme of fights 
and jealousies between the bravos and the negroes, constituting 
rival claimants for the favor of las tortilleras. At Galeras I saw 
near a dozen of these machines piled up as worthless trash: 
they had been summarily expelled from the mahogany banks 
by unanimous outcry, the women being the most clamorous 
against this attack upon their time-honored privileges ; and the 
tortilla, with its laborious, snail-paced process of manufacture, 
was duly reinstalled, amid the triumphant rejoicings of its de- 
fenders. 

. Arrived at the corte, the gang proceeds to erect huts, or to re- 
pair old ones, while the huntsman, who now becomes a man of 
great importance, makes his way into the forest, and, after long 
deliberation, selects the most eligible places for cutting. Upon 
his judgment rests, to a great degree, the season's success. The 
location should combine, as nearly as possible, proximity to the 
river, the intervening country such as can be crossed by built 
roads ; the trees should be numerous enough to avoid a second 
construction of roads during the season, and so situated as to 
avoid the clearing of much timber. A place combining all these 
facilities, however, is rarely met with, and the cutting of paths 
for the exit of the wood after felling is usually a considerable 
part of the labor. The huntsman is provided with a conch, 
which he sounds from time to time, and which is answered by 
his companions. 

Roads are often built directly to the river, the conch serving 
as a guide ; for, amid these vast and silent forests, the dense 
underbrush presents an impenetrable barrier to the progress of 
man or animal. Senor Ocampo, I believe, enjoys the exclusive 
privilege of cutting mahogany in this section, and therefore meets 
with no such opposition or rivalry as exists in British Hondu- 
ras (or Balize), and other points on the Spanish Main. Stagings 
are raised around the trunks of the trees about eight feet from 



350 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

the ground, two men being allotted to a tree. The wood from 
the trunk is preferable to that of any other part, hut the limbs 
generally afford the most variegated specimens, such as are used 
in the construction of finer work. The spectacle of a falling 
mahogany -tree is one which could not be easily forgotten. 
Toppling from its firm base, the giant of the tropical forest 
crashes upon the surrounding foliage, tearing through huge 
branches, and beating down with its widespreading arms an 
immense space in the thicket. Unlike the fall of the pine, this 
tree seldom splits or breaks, its vast strength bearing down all 
obstacles. 

It is common to assert that life in the tropics is attended with 
none of the vigor of constitution ascribed to more temperate re- 
gions, and that labor, in the American acceptation of the term, 
is next to impossible. The supposition is significantly dis- 
proved in the mahogany banks. Not only does this work re- 
quire, through all its phases, the severest muscular exertion, 
equaling that of the Herculean raftsmen and choppers of the 
Penobscot, but in all Central America the fame of the mahog- 
any-cutters for strength and power of endurance is widespread 
and recognized. Indeed, I doubt if, on an equal footing, the best 
Northern woodsmen could successfully compete with those of 
Honduras. 

When a sufficient number of trees have been felled to occupy 
the rest of the season in sawing and. teaming, they are separated 
into logs from eight to sixteen feet in length ; some trees turn- 
ing out five, and others not more than two. The logs are saw- 
ed with reference to their circumference, as many are of such 
size that the entire force of the gang is required to get them 
upon the drags. Crosscut saws are used exclusively for the 
business, which, like all industrial implements used in Hondu- 
ras, are imported from England. After being squared, to re- 
move all the weight possible, the logs are raised, by means of 
wooden levers, up an inclined plane to a level with the drag, 
which is of immense strength, and stands lengthwise with the 
log. When at the top, the burden is easily rolled upon it, and 
now commences the most laborious part of the work. The drag 
is often dispensed with, and the logs drawn singly, with chains, 
to the river. They must be conveyed to the embarcadero be- 



DEAGGING TO THE EIVEK. 351 

fore the setting in of the rainy season, which commences in 
May, and if the operations of chopping and sawing have occu- 
pied an unusual time, the dragging is conducted with great en- 
ergy. 

After the first rains, which last usually for a week, the roads, 
however , well they may have been built, become impassable. 
The premonition of dense fogs and portentous clouds are sure 
indications to the mahogany-cutters of the approaching storm. 
The work is now continued night and day. Sundays and dias 
de fiesta, on which the Catholic creed of the workmen exempts 
them from labor, are sacrificed to the urgency of the occasion ; 
aguardiente, double rations and pay, and every other induce- 
ment likely to tempt the workmen, are offered. The noonday 
heat along the low river bottoms forbids the task of teaming ex- 
cept at night. The drags are, therefore, loaded and started at 
an hour which will admit of reaching the river by early morning. 

At such times the forest echoes with the yelling of drivers 
and the heavy scraping of the drags as they move slowly through 
the tangled wilderness. The cattle are preceded by boys car- 
rying pitch-pine knots, serving to light the way through what 
would else be Egyptian darkness ; for even at midday the rays 
of the sun scarcely penetrate these silent solitudes, througli 
which the huntsman is sometimes an entire day in cutting a 
mile, and the ground is an almost impenetrable mat of creeping 
vines and thick bushes. As the procession slowly advances, 
the oxen, sometimes attached eight yoke to a drag, are often 
forced to the ground in their struggles, or are maimed by the 
deep interstices of the road. 

When the application of the goad, bringing blood with every 
thrust, fails to raise the exhausted creature, he is unyoked, and 
his place supplied by another from the corral, the failing animal 
answering for came for the next day's consumption. The flick- 
ering blaze of the torches serves to throw a picturesque glow 
athwart the scene, lighting up the swarthy, haggard faces of the 
men, penetrating the Gothic aisles of the dark woods around, 
and shedding a ruddy light upon the rude implements, bare 
breasts and arms, and grotesque costumes of the laborers. 

Arrived at the river, the logs are tumbled in, and if the em- 
harcadero is on any of the tributaries of the Guayape, they are 



352 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

allowed to drift to the main river, at a point about a league 
above its junction with the Guayambre. Plugs of cedar or 
pine are driven into each end of the logs before committing 
them to the river, to assist in floating the wood. The first 
rains swell the rivers to such a degree that there scarcely seems 
an outlet for the turbid waters poured into them from the roar- 
ing mountain affluents above. 

The task of safely piloting the logs to the sea now com- 
mences. As is elsewhere remarked, there are several chiflones 
or rapids in the Guayape below the mouth of the Guayambre. 
In periods of high water these are safely navigated by the ma- 
hogany rafts, and Senor Ocampo assured me he has rarely lost 
a log among the thousands he has intrusted to the current. 
They are attended by some of the gang in pipantes or canoes, 
usually " dug-outs" from the cedar and ceiha. 

This river craft varies from twenty to forty feet in length by 
about four or five in breadth. The ends are elevated, and 
sharp pointed like a northern fishing " pinkey." Over the stern 
a series of semicircular ribs are stretched, covered with cloth, 
serving for the chosa or cabin, in which the scanty stores for the 
voyage are stored.* Paddles are used to navigate through the 
more rapid currents, and thus prepared, the last act of the ma- 
hogany business is performed in descending the broad Patook 
to the ocean. During the trip, which usually lasts from six to 
eight days, the ^vpanteros land at times amid the wild solitudes 
on either hand, and supply their Avants by hunting, or from 
some circling eddy drag out a struggling cuyamel or catfish. 
Sometimes they stop to chaffer with the Indians inhabiting the 
region of the Lower Guayape and Patook. These are scattered 
parties of the Guacos and Poyas tribes. 

Senor Ocampo, who made numerous trips down the Guayape 
to the mouth of the Patook, represents the Indians below the 

* The pipantes or pitpans described by Herrera as encountered by Don Bar- 
tolome Columbus in the Bay of Honduras were probably similar to the largest 
now used on the Patook or in the Bay of Fonseca. Those seen at Panama, and 
which perform fruit A'oyages down the New Granadan coast, mil probably better 
answer the description. That above referred to was eight feet in width, and as 
long as a Spanish galley. An awning or roof of palm-leaves and mats was 
built over the middle, under which the women and children were protected from 
the rain and spray of the sea. It was laden with goods from Yucatan. 



PIP ANTES ON THE GUAYAPE. 



353 



Rio de Tabaco as entirely uncivilized and wild. Sometimes, in 
descending the river, lie came upon small canoes as he rounded 
some abrupt turn, containing squaws on fishing expeditions, 
who, at sight of the approaching raft, would paddle with all 
speed to the bank, snatching up the pipante, and disappearing 
with it in the woods. 

These pipantes are shallow and lightly constructed, though 
of considerable length. They have a very gradual curve at 
either end, to facilitate their passage among the rapids and over 
the timber and logs passing down the river at certain seasons. 
On approaching these floating obstructions, the Indians ply their 
paddles vigorously until the canoe has darted with the swift 
current nearly upon the logs, among which the waters are hiss- 
ing like a boiling caldron. At a signal, they jump into the 




PIPANTBS LOOSHOOTING. 



stern, raising tlie bows of the frail vessel out of the water, while, 
with the velocity of a frightened deer, she glances across, carried 
by the current and her own impetus. While taking their flying 
leap, the little crew dexterously resume their seats, and become 
again motionless as statues, except now and then a touch of the 
feathery paddle into the water, like the nervous play of a dol- 
phin's tail, to guide their rapid descent. 

Z 



354 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

The mahogany vessels along the coast of Eastern Honduras 
are mostly small schooners, and used as droughers to Balize, 
whence their cargoes are shipped in large vessels to Europe and 
the United States. Seiior Ocampo had as yet sent down but a 
small portion of his logs. He informed me that at his various 
cuttings he had above three thousand logs, which had cost above 
$100,000 to place in their present position. In enterprises of 
this kind, the law obliges foreigners to associate themselves with 
natives of the state or other Central American states, and thus 
the London house with whom Don Opolonio was connected 
placed their capital against his enterprise and management in 
the interior. Although one of the ultra Servile or Conservative 
party, and married to the sister of the renowned General Guar- 
diola, Senor Ocampo enjoyed the confidence and respect of all 
classes, irrespective of party. 

We remained at Corte Sara two days, making short excur- 
sions into the woods, examining the works and habits of the 
cutters, and taking an occasional trip up or down the Jalan in 
the j)itpans or jpij^antes. A small stream, known as el Rio 
Sara (or Rio de Corte Sara), taking its rise toward the hacien- 
da of Quebracha, flows to the eastward of the corte, and empties 
into the Jalan a few miles below. All the streams flowing into 
the Jalan above Corte Sara are said to be gold-bearing, increas- 
ing in richness as the head-waters are approached. 

The gold-washings of the Jalan are less popular and not so 
well known as those of the Guayape. It is at some distance 
from and midway between the two centres of population, Danli 
and Jutecalpa, and is not resorted to as much as are the creeks 
and little streams nearer those places. The gold of the Jalan 
is inferior in quality to that of the Guayape, which has become 
famous throughout Central Amerca, and denominated "eZ oro mas 
ajpreciable.'''' That of the Jalan occurs in thin scales, while that 
of the Guayape, though mixed with this description of gold, is 
principally in minute rounded particles, averaging the size of a 
radish-seed or a small pin-head. I did not hear of any diggings 
near Corte Sara. The gold region of the Guayape proper may 
be included between the latitudes of 14° and 15° N., and the 
longitudes of 85° 30^ W. and 86° 30^ W. This embraces a 
territory sixty miles square, and containing 3600 square miles 



NATUEi\L PRODUCTIONS. 355 

of country. The rivers running parallel or adjacent to the Guay- 
ape and their tributaries embraced in the above limits I include 
as the "Guayape Gold Kegion." 

Among the flowering trees on the banks of the Jalan I no- 
ticed one bearing clusters of pale red flowers, with an odor re- 
sembling the mignonette. The tree was about sixteen feet in 
height, with large, oblong, ribbed leaves. Some of these flow- 
ers were gathered previous to the feast of the Virgin at Jute- 
calpa, and placed around the altar and the figure of the Virgin. 
A botanical friend, from my description, supposes this to be the 
Red PluTYieria. 

On this trip I noticed the silk-cotton-tree {ceiba) of a larger 
size than I had yet seen it, although found throughout Central 
America. There is also an indigenous silk growing wild among 
the trees of Olancho, the production of a species of silk-worm 
constructing a large bag two feet in depth, depending from trees 
of the open savannas. At a distance the nest resembles a huge, 
closely-matted cobweb. The animal makes no cocoon, but 
weaves the silk in layers and skeins around the inside of the 
nest. But one instance is known of any available use being- 
made of the silk by the natives. Senor Jose Ferrari, of Tegu- 
cigalpa, represented that in 1844 he sent six pounds of the raw 
material to England, where it was made into handkerchiefs, not 
easily detected from the common silk, of equal strength and del- 
icate texture. A profitable trade in this might be established, 
as it can be had in any required quantity simply for the trouble 
and expense of gathering. 

An old Mexican author, referring to the resources of the 
Isthmus of Tehuantepec, speaks of the wild silk as a valuable 
and plentiful production of Tabasco and Oaxaca, adding that, 
at a stated season, the natives were accustomed to gather it for 
exportation to Spain. The article, from its description, is doubt- 
less identical with that of Olancho. There is also a curious 
silk-producing spider, called the Araha de seda, found in various 
parts of Nicaragua and Olancho. It is often seen hurrying 
along the corridor with a load of fine silk on its back, from which 
it trails numerous delicate filaments. This insect is entirely 
harmless, so that the Seuora Montealegre at Chinandega allow- 
ed one to crawl leisurely over her hand. In Olancho they are 



356 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

quite common. There is also a spider in this vicinity known 
as ^^Arana pica cahallos^'' or the horse-biting spider, from its 
attacking the hoofs of animals, causing them to decay, separate, 
and fall off. Horses are often ruined in this way. 

Instead of returning by the hacienda of San Francisco, we 
turned to the southward on leaving Corte Sara, and, following 
the valley of the Jalan, rode toward the hacienda of Quehra- 
hacha (Break-axe), pronounced aiid generally written Quebra- 
cha, and named after a valuable wood, famous for its flinty hard- 
ness. Though the distance up to Quebracha is not above ten 
miles in a direct line, I think we must have traveled nearly 
twice that distance in avoiding the pantanos, or swamps bor- 
dering the eastern bank. An impenetrable jungle forbids any 
passage along the opposite side. Don Opolonio promised me 
some good sport at the hacienda, where was a lake, into which 
flowed the numerous rivulets we were now crossing. Fish and 
game were plenty, and though I had neglected to bring my rifle, 
he knew from experience that guns and fishing-tackle were to 
be obtained at Quebracha. From eight o'clock in the morning 
until late in the afternoon we rode through alternate undulating 
savannas and black alluvions, until we reached a heavy belt of 
trees, through which we discovered a broad valley or plain, with 
an extensive hacienda just beyond the woods. We set spurs 
to our animals, and, emerging upon a grassy slope, drew up at 
the hacienda. 

The sound of music and the clapping of hands, mingled with 
loud and merry voices, showed that the few inhabitants were 
engaging in a fandango, an exhibition I had rarely witnessed in 
the country. As we rode up, the applause had subsided and 
the dance recommenced. Our arrival causing no interruption,- 
we drew nearer and joined the spectators, who turned away for 
an instant to say ^^Adios, senor !" to Don Opolonio. It was 
near sunset. Hemmed in by the woody heights to the east and 
west, the little hamlet was the only evidence of civilization in 
view. To the southward lay a beautiful lake, a mile in length 
by a few hundred yards wide, reflecting the trees and hills 
around. Horses and cattle, as usual, roamed over the plain, 
and from the woods, in which part of the lake was hidden from 
view, came the distant notes of marsh-birds, cranes, and spoon- 



FANDANGO AT QUEBRACHA. 



357 



"bills. The breeze came over 
the lake, lapping with tiny- 
waves the beach below. 

Unscared by the sound 
of the rude guitar and the 
accustomed proximity of 
the dancers, birds flitted 
about among the trees, and 
made themselves partici- 
pants of the scene ; the cof- 
fee-colored nazareno espe- 
cially, whose peculiar snap- 
ping came in at intervals 
— no mean substitute for 
the castanets, unknown to 
these primitive people, but 
in Spain considered an es- 
sential accompaniment to 
the fandango. The dance 
had long ago been familiar 
to me in the Havana and 
the South American republics, and I was curious to observe 
what influence situation, climate, and the mixture of races might 
have brought about in an amusement so completely national. 

The number of dancers, young men and girls, was ten or 
twelve. A few old people, children, and dogs sat at the porch 
and beneath the trees. A slim and pretty muchacha, with brill- 
iant eyes, and complexion heightened under the excitement, was 
for the moment the leading heroine of this little ballet in real life. 
Two young men, the favored lover and his aspiring rival, with 
" Djalma" complexions and earnest faces, represented in varie- 
ties of attitude and movement the passions of love, jealousy, 
hope, and despair, met by la coqueta with alternate coldness and 
approbation, disdain or relenting tenderness, ending in grand 
finale with a whirl of intoxicated joy. All the dancers in turn 
took precedence, the others filling in the minor details of the 
pantomime. On the whole, if less seductive than the more pol- 
ished movement of the bolero, the fandango of Olancho is quite 
as vivid and agreeable. 




SPA2*ISH DA3SICB. 



358 



EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 



Before the dance was completed we had been joined by a 
good, jolly-looking man of some thirty years of age, who, after 
welcoming us to the hacienda, familiarly chid his old acquaint- 
ance, Don Opolonia, for pouncing thus unexpectedly upon him, 
when his larder was not so bountifully stocked as usual. He 
had known for several days of my arrival at Jutecalpa, and now, 
for the first time, I learned that the speaker was one of the sons 
of Seiior Garay, and that Quebracha ranked among the hacien- 
das of the old Croesus. 

Our appetites somewhat sharpened by the ride, we were not 
over-scrupulous as to the quality of the fare that might be set 
before us. It was coarse enough, consisting of a sloppy soup, 
in which the ingredients appeared to be a bucket of water, half 
a dozen plantains, and a large piece of cow. Don Gabriel Ga- 
ray was no such epicure as his glorious old father at Jutecalpa. 
Before retiring for the night, I saw a couple of urchins slowly 
devouring something which they pulled forth by the handful 
from an antiquated stewpan in one corner. It was a mass of 
baked meat, the odor of which, to me, was uncommonly savory. 
On inquiry, I found this to be the flesh of an armadillo, killed 
in the neighborhood the day before. I was not long in present- 
ing a third candidate for the dainty dish. The meat was very 
palatable, and as delicate as chicken. 

It is usual in some parts of Olancho, especially toward the 
coast, to bake these little cavaliers whole, without separating the 
flesh from the coat of mail with which nature has provided them. 
The process is to dig a hole in the earth, making a layer of heat- 
ed stones at the bottom. The animal is laid upon these, and 
covered with an " upper crust" of flat stones, over which a hot 

fire is kindled. Stuffed 
with bits of fat, plugged 
with wedges of suet, like 
an Italian beefsteak, and 
flavored with some aro- 
matic herb, the most fas- 
tidious gourmand would 
pronounce it a faultless 
dish. '* The armadillo of 
Olancho is usually about 




WATEK-FOWLS. 359 

twenty inches In length, of a dark brown color, and hurries pre- 
cipitately out of sight at the approach of danger. The Indians 
frequently hunt them for food. 

On the following morning I met an old vaquero from Culmi, a 
town about forty-five miles to the northeast of Jutecalpa, who oc- 
cupied my attention for an hour with a rapid and almost unintel- 
ligible account of the dias antiguos of Olancho, as transmitted to 
him by his father, who had died at an advanced age some years 
before. Standing on Table Mountain, Carson's Flat, Mormon 
Island, Bidwell's Bar, or any celebrated gold locality of Califor- 
nia, where the proceeds have been reckoned by millions, I should 
have no hesitation in retailing the statements of the old Olancha- 
no ; but, for obvious reasons, I prefer they should remain, at least 
for the present, among my rough notes. The facts are of suffi- 
cient interest without reference to the exaggerated legends of a 
superannuated, garrulous Indian. 

Agreeably to a promise made on the preceding evening, Don 
Gabriel furnished us with ammunition and two old English 
fowling-pieces, and, thus equipped, we followed the bend of the 
lake in quest of game. We had hardly entered the underbrush 
when a beautiful bird, which I believe to have been a toucan, 
called here ^ica de navaja, or razor-bill, flew heavily up, and, 
immediately alighting, ran with the speed of a water-hen into the 
reeds. The toucan of Olancho (also called thefeliz) has a sharp 
bill, with which he snaps up marsh insects and worms. The 
motions of this gaudy gentleman were too quick for us, and nei- 
ther got a shot at him. 

We pushed on, however, and, as we separated to approach 
from two points a flock of aquatic birds navigating the upper 
part of the lake, Don Opolonio put me on my guard against la- 
gatos, as the alligator is here called. I kept my eyes open for 
them, but, although the reeds were sometimes portentously agi- 
tated, I got no ocular demonstration of their presence. In the 
upper part of this lake, the tapir, or dante, as it is here called, 
is said to have been seen. This beast I often heard described, 
and should judge him to be a formidable animal. He is said to 
break his way through the heaviest jungle when pursued, never 
shows fight, is quite harmless, and aflects shady, secluded places. 
On the lower Guayape I was shown the path of a tapir, through 



360 



EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 



which the animal was wont to pass when going to drink ; "but, 
in all my peregrinations through Central America, it was not my 
good fortune to meet with one, though I took special pains to 
come in their way. 




LAKE OF QTJEBKAOHA. 



We made the circuit of the lake, and met on the western side 
without seeing any thing worthy a shot, but as we were prepar- 
ing to return the bevy of water-fowl reappeared from behind a 
clump of reeds, and into their midst we both poured the contents 
of our muskets. Four of the aquatic party remained struggling 
on the water. The two which we succeeded in obtaining were 
specimens of the beautiful blue-winged teal, or mountain duck 
of the North. I had often noted them in the air, and descend- 
ing the Salto Mountains had raised a flock of them from a 
marshy meadow toward the foot-hills. The male is of brilliant 
plumage, wings black, white, and changeable green, a trifle 
smaller than the Northern bird, and wearing a tuft of black 
feathers upon the head, which can be elevated or depressed at 
pleasure. The legs are yellow, and in flying produce a singu- 
lar creaking noise, as if some miniature machinery in them need- 
ed oiling. 

The wild turkey {jMva) may often be seen in Olancho along- 



WILD BIEDS OF OLANCHO. 361 

the hill slopes, particularly near the brooks, where they seek a 
retreat during the heat of noonday. The sportsman exploring 
his way through the thicket is sometimes startled with their 
heavy whirr ; or should he proceed cautiously, he will, perhaps, 
see tlie male, with outstretched neck and curious eye, watching 
his motions from some lofty limb. He is somewhat heavier than 
our domestic turkey ; is of a glossy black, with a becoming top- 
knot placed jauntily on his head. This ornament forms a comb 
like that of the rooster, but differs in respect to material, being 
composed of a dozen black tufted feathers, two inches high, and 
prettily tipped with yellow. He is often domesticated, and in 
this state is sometimes known as thej?«;m7. The curassow, 
quail, rice-bird, swallow, aldeano or yellow-tail (famous for their 
villages of hanging nests) ; blue, white, and gray heron ; chorcha 
(not the woodcock, as the name implies, but a small, yellow- 
breasted, black-winged songster, about the size of a thrush, and 
heard only at morning and evening), ibis, and two birds of the 
order Gcdlince of Linnasus, described by Henderson as frequent- 
ing the colony of Balize, where they are known respectively 
as the crax and the quam {Penelope Cristata) — these are aU 
found in the lowlands and along the river bottoms of Olancho. 
The male of the crax, by a reversion of the usual order of Na- 
ture, is much smaller and less gaudily feathered than the fe- 
male, who steps haughtily among the dried heather, displaying 
a brilliant chocolate plumage, with variegated spots of black 
and white on her neck and pinions. The dove, wood-pigeon, 
and several other birds already mentioned are common to near- 
ly every part of Central America. 

There is also an animal resembling a ground-hog, called the 
tapisGuente, covered with fine brown hair, and of the size of a 
gray squirrel. This little fellow creates sad havoc among the 
yuca and frijole fields, where he burrows like the gopher of Cali- 
fornia, making horizontal excavations extending many rods, with 
here and there an air-hole, from which his comical snout and 
two watchful eyes may sometimes be seen, but dodging out of 
sight at the slightest noise. The tapiscuente frequents Que- 
bracha, where he has established no enviable reputation. With 
him keep company the armadillo (the three, eight, and nine band- 
ed), the gibeonite {caviapaca f)^ a little leaping animal between 



362 



EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 



the squirrel and Guinea-pig, 
and often confounded with 
the Indian cony or agouti ; 
the curious ichneumon, the 
opossum, raccoon, porcupine, 
red squirrel, and ant-eater. 
These animals are more or 
less abundant in all the low country of Honduras, and probably 
are found ft^p on the Atlantic coast from Panama to Guatemala. 




TUE AGOUTI. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Fishing at Quebracha. — ^Plants and Flowers. — Cayamuela. — Cinnamon-tree. — 
Lobelia. — Sassafras. — Wild Indigo. — Sarsaparilla. — Manner of Collecting. — 
Flaxseed. — Plans for the Future. — ^A Trip to Palo Verde. — Silver and Copper 
Mines. — Marble. — Loadstone. — Cinnabar. — Preparations for Catacamas. — 
Mountains of Jutequile. — Solitude. — A Trout Stream. — India-rubber-tree. — 
Trade. — The Jippa. — Ornithological Music. — Clarionet-bird. — Telica. — Con- 
ception Flower. — San Roque. — Mules and Horses. — Breaking a Colt. — Palms. 
— Vino de Coyol. — Hacienda of Herradura. — Gold Legends. — Gold Net-sink- 
ers and Horseshoes. — A curious "Will. — "The good old Colony Times." — 
Olancho Viejo. — Separation of the Party. — El Boqmron. 

We passed three days at Quebracha enjoying the hospitality 
of Don Gabriel, and during that time I was initiated into the 
mysteries of hunting and fishing. The lake abounds in a very 
palatable little fish, resembling the dace of New England, and a 
good-sized variety of trout, known here as the guapote. They 
are easily taken with hook and line, biting eagerly at worms or 
insects. As for trees, shrubs, and flowers, I at last gave over at- 
tempting to note their variety. Amid such a profusion, only the 
patience and the knowledge of a professed botanist could hope 
to distinguish or appreciate them. "iV^ se, senor,'''' was almost 
invariably the answer to my inquiries, or, with a careless shrug, 
" Quien sabe f (who knows ?). At any moment I might be 
crushing heedlessly some inestimable medicinal shrub or plant, 
or brushing past a tree whose precious products, properly col- 
lected or prepared, would well repay the trouble of obtaining, to 
say nothing of the pleasure in thus ferreting out of Nature's 
wildest garden treasures of botany or gems of the floral kingdom. 



MEDICINAL PLANTS. 363 

Don Gabriel described a plant called Cayamuela (or teeth- 
fall-out), common in Olanclio, possessing the singular quality 
of salivation, whence the name. I obtained a written descrip- 
tion, which represents it as a pliant, juicy stalk, growing to the 
height of three feet, supporting a single pale yellow flower the 
size of a common lily, which blooms from March until May. 
The odor of the flower, if inhaled, swells the face ; and the 
juice of the stalk or the leaves of the flower, if applied to them, 
will sensibly loosen the teeth. Cattle instinctively avoid it, and 
experiments are said to have produced on dogs effects precisely 
similar to salivation. I afterward learned that the cayamuela is 
not unknown in Nicaragua. 

Eoberto had noticed my pleasure in examining strange plants, 
flowers, and birds, and never lost an opportunity of gratifying 
my taste. One day he brought and laid in my hammock a 
bundle of bark, which he said could be obtained in any desirable 
quantity in the '■'■ monte.'''' It had the shape and the peculiar 
pungent flavor of the cinnamon, but was somewhat darker. He 
called it canela, and promised to show me the tree from which 
he had obtained it. I then remembered to have tasted this 
bark in the bowl oi poncha de aguardiente made in Jutecalpa 
at the funcion, where it was called cinnamon. Though resem- 
bling cinnamon, I am not prepared to class it as such. It may 
liave been some bark as yet unknown. 

There is also here a species of lobelia, to which medicinal 
properties are ascribed from the fact that horses are said to burst 
after taking a small portion of a leaf into their stomach ; it is 
thus known as Reventa caballos (or horse-burster). It is found 
in cool, secluded places, where horses and cattle are apt to stray 
during the heat of the day. The plant is doubtless a subtle 
poison, and to its presence has been thought owing the loss of 
so many horses and cattle along the Jalan and Guayape. Sas- 
safras and wild indigo are also found in this vicinity, as well as 
throughout the whole of Olancho. 

The sarsaparilla (vine of thorns) grows wild in nearly all 
parts of Honduras, but in Olancho it forms one of the most im- 
portant branches of Indian industry, considerable quantities 
reaching TruxiUo from the interior, all of which is gathered by 
the natives, who, at certain seasons, make regular excursions in 



364 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

search of it. The vine, which is armed with small thorns, may 
be easily distinguished. When beyond the vicinity of trees 
upon which to climb, it winds itself among rocks and bushes, 
to which it clings tenaciously. The root extends some distance 
into the ground, and is of a grayish-brown color, but sometimes 
found scarlet or red. Most of what is collected is sold in small 
parcels to the dealers in the interior towns, who separate it into 
two qualities. These are made up into bundles weighing from 
two and a half to four lbs. each, the roots doubled into lengths 
of a foot, and secured by fibres of the vine. These are packed 
in bales of from three to five arrobas, and generally sent to the 
nearest sea-port. The medicinal properties of the sarsaparilla 
are scarcely recognized in Olancho. Small bundles of the root 
may sometimes be seen for sale on the Plazas, but its virtues 
are only taken for granted through the foreign demand for it. 

Flaxseed is cultivated with great success, but is also found 
growing wild. It is retailed by the women in Jutecalpa by the 
copper dollar's worth, and seems to be used exclusively as a 
medicine. 

On our return to Jutecalpa, which we reached by crossing 
the Jalan and the Guayape at El Retire, where I again met with 
Senor Marano, I found that General Zelaya had returned sud- 
denly to Lepaguare, called thither by a new phase in the seno- 
ra's illness. To have gone any where but to the house of ray 
old friend Sefior Garay would have been to put an unpardonable 
afiront upon that dignified worthy, and, accordingly, back to his 
ample casa we turned, Don Opolonio taking leave of me at the 
door, and trotting away to his own residence. 

The old gentleman, after hearing my adventures with great 
apparent pleasure, assured me that thirty years ago Quebracha 
was a famous sporting-place, where every summer he had been 
wont to repair with a few companions, erect pavilions on the 
banks of the lake, and indulge to satiety his favorite pastimes 
of shooting and fishing. He had not been there for many years, 
and seemed delighted with my favorable account of it. This 
was another place he promised to give me if I would return with 
a colony. When I asked him to draw up a contract to that ef- 
fect, he answered, 

" No, no, hijo / you Americans are too apt, I hear, to flatter 



SILVER MINE OF PALO VERDE. 365 

US, but never perform all you promise. Corae back with an in- 
dustrious colony, and if I am yet alive, you shall want neither 
for lands, nor documents confirming them to you." 

"But," I said, "if you draw up conditional writings with me 
now, it will be all the easier to induce the good and industrious 
people you speak of to come to Olancho." The old man only 
repeated his frequent expression, 

" Let me see Olancho once more prosperous before I die, and 
I shall follow my fathers contented and happy." 

Finding that, during the illness of the senora, there would be 
no probability of my securing the attention of the general at 
Lepaguare, I resolved to remain a few days at Jutecalpa to make 
preparations for the trip, and then, with the padre, who had sev- 
eral times proposed the journey, start for the famous Indian 
town of Catacamas, situated about thirty-five miles northeast of 
Jutecalpa, though, by the route we intended to take, not much 
less than twice that distance. 

While the padre was concluding his arrangements, I made 
several short excursions toward the small hamlets around Jute- 
calpa. Don Sebastian Ayala, jefe politico or prefect of the de- 
partment, desired me to accompany him to the silver mine of 
Palo Yerde, about ten miles west. The seiior had once been an 
emjpresario^ and professed to have a thorough understanding of 
the mineral capabilities of Olancho. Leaving the river of Ju- 
tecalpa on our left, we struck over toward the great Yalle Ar- 
riva, or Upper Valley, bounded on the north and east by the 
picturesque mountains of Jutequile. 

The mine, which has been for an indefinite number of years 
abandoned, is said at one time to have yielded such vast amounts 
of silver that the family owning it used to send their silver four 
times a year to Truxillo, whence it was shipped to Spain for in- 
vestment. I obtained specimens of ore from this place, contain- 
ing evidences of virgin silver. Seiior Francisco Verde after- 
ward gave me tluree specimens of ore, found at this place, at Yo- 
con, fifty miles northwest of Jutecalpa, and at Junquilla, be- 
tween Jutecalpa and the trading town of Jano. At Junquilla 
there have also been found specimens of copper ore, said to ex- 
ist there in such quantities as to tint the earth green with the 
metallic wealth beneath. The whole, copper, ore, and stones, 



36Q EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

contain gold. Seiior Yerde affirmed that "the entire country 
around Yocon is impregnated with silver, and that scarcely a 
stone can Tbe picked up in any direction but has some proportion 
of silver." Near Quebracha there is also a silver mine, but I 
had no means of ascertaining its resources. I proposed to visit, 
with my informants, the various localities designated ; but, with 
their want of punctuality and the impossibility of my keeping 
every appointment, I was obliged to take the statements of my 
entertainers cum grano salis. 

Doubtless the statements are greatly exaggerated, as are prob- 
ably all those brought to my notice respecting the gold placers ; 
but, after clearing them of the haze of old legends and the nat- 
ural tendency to enlarge noticeable throughout Central America, 
there remains enough of a strictly reliable nature to entitle Olan- 
cho to a prominence among mineral regions second only to Cali- 
fornia and Australia. 

The value of the silver mines of Olancho I am unable to state 
with any degree of certainty, as all my accounts are from hear- 
say ; but I am convinced that they are well worthy the attention 
of capitalists, and may be made to yield remunerative returns. 

Of the copper mines I can speak with more confidence, as 
they occur in all parts of Central Olancho, and have been open- 
ly worked for a century. Those in the valley of TJlua, north- 
west of Lepaguare, have produced immense sums. As early as 
1712, mule-trains of copper were sent from Jutecalpa to Tegu- 
cigalpa, where the ore and metal were smelted ^'■for the gold con- 
tained in them.''^ Near Yocon, pieces of pure copper, like that 
of Lake Superior, are found, in which the percentage of gold is 
remarkably large. 

There are also mines of jasper near the town of Silca, or a 
species of yellow, brown, and green quartz, called ^'as^e by the 
natives, and which I am quite willing to believe is the real stone 
of that name. I saw no specimens of it, but heard it very fre- 
quently mentioned when conversing with the natives on the 
natural resources of Olancho. Blue and white marble of a very 
fine quality exists in the mountains toward Toro, in the depart- 
ment of that name. These quarries have never been worked, 
and probably will remain untouched for ages, unless developed 
under the auspices of a race superior in activity and industry to 



MINERALS. 367 

that now occupying Olanclio. At Lepaguare there are also 
promising indications of beautiful marble. 

While at Jutecalpa I heard of a large fragment of loadstone 
found in the mountains near Jano, where it was stated that any- 
desirable amount of it could be procured. This was said to 
possess the somewhat startling property of repulsion as well as 
of attraction when applied to steel ; the former power emanating 
from one side, and the latter from the other. A needle suspend- 
ed by a thread in a glass of water approached or retreated as the 
loadstone was turned in the hand of the operator. So many 
persons attested to the truth of this that I determined to note it 
for future reference. 

Iron is said to have been discovered in Olancho, and cinnabar 
to exist in several localities. I have every reason to believe 
this from the descriptions given in long conversations, during 
which I took particular pains to cross-question my informants, 
and the statements never varied. I am still more inclined to 
the belief from the indisputable authority of the most scientific 
gentleman of Honduras, Seiior Jose Maria Cacho, late Minister 
of Finance of the republic. In a letter addressed to me, dated 
Llanos de Santa Rosa, February 23d, 1854, he requests a de- 
scription of the method of working the New Almaden quicksilver 
mine in California, as he had ascertained the locality of several 
mines of cinnabar in the department of Comayagua. 

The mine of Palo Yerde is now filled up with stones and 
earth. Trees of many years' growth envelop even the ancient 
works, and during the rainy season the matted foliage probably 
hides the entire place from view. 

From what I could learn in relation to the mineral wealth of 
Olancho, I became gradually convinced that, with the commence- 
ment of "legitimate" mining, such as that now practiced in 
California, the country will send forth sums of gold destined to 
create an excitement equal to that of any miniiig furore of the 
last ten years. 

The Zelayas assured me that by the time of my return they 
would be prepared to listen to mj proposals. The padre had 
now completed his arrangements, and, with my oldest servant 
Victor, we took the road for Catacamas. 

The horses were brought to the door, and, leaving the court- 



368 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

yard, we cantered out of the town, receiving a courteous salute 
from Don Francisco as we passed his house. We stopped on 
the road to drink some nicely-prepared chocolate, and finally 
turned toward the little town of Telica, situated below the north- 
ern slope of the Jutequile mountains. 

Among the wild plants pointed out by my observant compan- 
ion was the ruhia, or Honduras madder, and we afterward found 
its stalks thrust across the path in many places. The Indians 
on the Lower Guayape sell this plant and the xiquilite for col- 
oring purposes. This madder, I believe, is fully equal to that 
of Holland and New Zealand, of which not far from the value 
of $2,000,000 is said to be annually imported into the United 
States. Endless quantities might be cultivated in Honduras 
at trifling expense. The root, a long, perennial creeper, of a 
deep red color, with lateral branches or stems, sometimes serves 
for food for wild hogs. The leaves are of an oblong or lanceo- 
late shape. 

From the plain we ascended the grassy slopes of the range, 
and, reaching its summit at noon, entered a still pine wood 
stretching along an extensive piece of table-land, through which 
ran a silent stream. Here we encamped for an hour, while the 
boys bestirred themselves to prepare coffee. The prospect from 
these hills back toward Jutecalpa was very inviting and exten- 
sive. Only the towers of the church peered above the mass of 
trees. The padre had exhausted his topic of Catholicism, and, 
being of rather a luxurious turn, he fastened his hammock be- 
tween two trees, from which certain unmistakable sounds soon 
indicated that he was asleep. 

While Victor was below dipping up the water for coffee, I re- 
clined myself on a mossy rock forming one side of a little basin 
receiving the waters of the stream. It was deep, gravel bot- 
tomed, and as transparent as glass. Motionless on the opposite 
side, midway between the bottom and the surface, as if sus- 
pended in the air, was a beautiful speckled trout. 

For some minutes I sat motionless on the rock, smoking and 
watching the tyrant of the brook. At last his feathery fins 
waved to and fro, and deliberately he glided toward my side of 
the pool, and, disappearing in the shadow of the rock, soon 
came out in company with a Mrs. Trout, and together they made 



SUMMIT OF JUTEQUILE. 369 

the circuit of their little dominions. The unusual shadow at 
that time of day had excited their suspicions, and they were 
now holding counsel as to its probable cause. A slight move- 
ment of my hand sent them darting into the inner recesses of 
the rock, from which they did not again emerge. 

This little incident recalled the loneliness and deserted condi- 
tion of the country. Scarcely an object within the extensive 
range of our vision indicated industry or civilization. No 
sound of man or distant bark of dog, but utter silence, amid 
which I remembered the far-off scenes of busy life as one recalls 
an indistinct dream. Even the usual signs of solitude, the sigh- 
ing of winds through the trees, the buzz of insects, or the bark 
of the squirrel, were here wanting. A professed hermit might 
here have found a congenial spot. Roberto and his companion 
dispelled the illusion by snapping a dried stick as they kindled 
the fire. 

The padre awoke with the fragrant odor of the coffee, and we 
pursued our journey toward the northeastward. Conspicuous as 
we wound down the narrow path appeared the odd-looking ule, 
or India-rubber-tree {Sijphonia elasticd). It is known by its 
round, smooth trunk, protected by a light-colored bark, and some- 
times reaches to the height of fifty feet. The leaves form in clus- 
ters, three together, of a thin, delicate texture and ovate form, 
usually a foot in length, and having the centre leaf a little longer 
than the others. The fruit is a curious affair, somewhat resem- 
bling the peach, and is eagerly eaten by some animals and birds. 
It is unpalatable, and divided into three lobes, each holding a 
small black nut. 

The trees — here called caoutchouc — are tapped in precisely 
the same manner as the Vermont farmer obtains the juice from 
the maple. The wound emits a yellowish, creamy liquor {gum 
elastic), which in Honduras is allowed to run into holes in the 
sand, forming a dirty, flabby substance, very unlike the superi- 
or article brought from Para. A coarse kind of paper is also 
obtained from the tree, made from its bark. No practical use 
of the India-rubber has ever been made in the country to my 
knowledge, but some small and inferior lots have been shipped 
to Boston by Senor Prudot from Truxillo, and remains unsold 
in the loft of Messrs. Nickerson at that place. Thg article, 

Aa 



370 



EXPLORATIONS m HONDURAS. 



properly cared for, could be turned to profitable use ; but there 
yet lacks the requisite knowledge and industry. 

A very curious bird should also here be mentioned, as, in 
passing a thicket oijicoral, we heard its strange song. A riv- 
ulet crossed the path, and as we paused to water the horses, our 
attention was directed to the music and its feathered compo- 
ser, who stood on a low limb to the right of the road. In shape 
he resembles the common wild pigeon of the Western United 
States. His motions were lively and graceful as he bridled 
about his perch like a cock-dove in the cote. His color was a 
light brown, and the breast apparently saffron or orange-colored. 
He is found nowhere out of Olancho and Segovia, where it is 
known as the jippa or hipjpah. The notes of this bird are re- 
peated with great distinctness at regular intervals, and consti- 
tute nearly the scale from five to seven notes. The song, which 
is wonderfully accurate, is delivered with force, and in the ef- 
fort the bird dilates its throat to a remarkable extent. Of its 
habits I could obtain no particulars ; and I should add that this 
was not the first time I had heard the peculiar strain of the 
jipjpa. 

This may possibly be the bird described by Byam, page 158, 
as the " clarionet bird," with a succession of notes like the low- 
er octave of a clarionet, running down the scale from the key- 
note to the third, fifth, and octave, slow, but rich and powerful. 
These are correct in the semi-tones, and are thus represented 
by that author: 



Andante. 




22: 



He also describes another bird, and gives the following as an 
illustration of his song, which was so remarkable that he took 
the notes from a guitar on his return to his forest cabin in 
Segovia, and wrote them down : 



^^e 



^i=n; 



J-J-ffy-y : 



§ 



SEzp: 



1^=*: 



THE "JIPPA" AND CLARIONET-BIRD. 37 1 

The oddity of the last song is its only recommendation. The 
first, however, is doubtless the jip^a, the name of which he does 
not give. A number of Central American travelers testify to 
the existence of this bird, some of whom have verbally assured 
me they have heard the notes in the silent forest, but had never 
been fortunate enough to get a sight of the musician. I am not 
aware that any ornithologist has described this, or several others 
wliich appear to be peculiar to Central America. 

On reaching the foot of the Jutequile range, we entered a lab- 
yrinth of cattle-paths, from which it was difficult to select the 
camino real. We at last came to a tangled wild wood, and di- 
rectly lost our way. Pushing along, however, we beat through 
a cobweb of vines, stretching down like stalactites from the mossy 
limbs above. We often bent to the horses' necks to avoid the 
stubborn branches that every where intersected the way. After 
leaping a number of gnarled trunks, decayed limbs, and logs, we 
pushed onward in a better path, and heard a dog bark in the 
distance. Following the sound, we broke our way through the 
woods to the outskirts of the secluded little hamlet of Telica. 

The first house was that of la Senora Mendez, who, with her 
children, was squatted around a fire at their evening meal of 
tortillas, wild honey, and cream. They all sprang to their feet 
as we brushed up, and seemed alarmed at our sudden appear- 
ance ; but the padre, who had cantered around, and now enter- 
ed the little clearing from the opposite side, appearing with his 
honest face, he was known in an instant, and all shouted a noisy 
welcome. The door opened, and a cripple crawled out on all 
fours to look at us ; he, too, had his welcome for the padre, which 
was heartily returned. 

While conversing with the people, and sharing their evening 
meal, I observed some magnificent crimson flowers, some four- 
teen inches in circumference, on a tree near by, and asking the 
cripple what it was called, he replied, " the Conception flower, 
senor." It receives its name from the circumstance of its bloom- 
ing during the time of the feast of the Conception. At a dis- 
tance, the tree, covered with these showy, shield-like flowers, was 
one of the finest sights imaginable. The odor was rather of- 
fensive. 

We left the house, and rode to the little parochial residence 



372 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

of the padre of Telica, Seiior Fiallos, who entertained us to the 
extent of his means until morning, when we set out for the ha- 
cienda of San Eoque, about two leagues farther to the northeast. 
San Roque is owned hj the wealthy Bustellos family, and has 
several thousand head of cattle, mules, and horses. Seated near 
a fire at the door was a vaquero, who, with a lighted torch, was 
singing from his leathern leggins hundreds of little white in- 
sects called agarrapatas, attaching to them in riding through 
the bushes. These are smaller than the "tick" of the North, 
but irritate the skin by their bite, and are really a serious an- 
noyance at certain seasons in traveling. Here we seemed to 
have got beyond the gold region. The same legends and won- 
derful stories were ready for the listener, but the scene of the 
ancient gold digging was laid toward the southwest, in the do- 
minions of the Zelayas. 

Some of the finest mules in Olancho are found on the hacien- 
das in this vicinity. Those of Olancho generally, though too 
soft-hoofed for long-continued mountain travel, are the best ani- 
mals produced in Central America. The shaggy little mount- 
ain mules are much more enduring and hardy, and for that rea- 
son preferable to those of the lowlands. 

There are no statistics of the mules and horses in Olancho. 
There are many cattle estates having from three hundred to a 
thousand head each, and some which far exceed that number. 
The animals are usually small, slightly made, active, and capa- 
ble of great endurance. Large droves are annually sent to San 
Salvador and Guatemala. The value of a horse, taken ad libi- 
tum from the corral, is from ten to fourteen dollars ; broken to the 
pacing gait, they command from forty to eighty dollars. Mares 
are seldom broken or mounted. Mules are in higher estimation 
than horses, owing to their greater hardiness and value as pack 
animals. The value of a common mule is forty dollars, but 
from two to three hundred dollars have been refused for anda- 
doras or pacers. Some of these last are groomed after the fash- 
ion of the country, and in the rainy season kept under cover. 

The method of breaking the mule to the pace is by connect- 
ing the two right and the two left feet by thongs of hide, which 
force the animal into an awkward movement, limiting the steps 
to a certain length, and obliging him to lift the feet to twice the 



BREAiaNG WILD CATTLE. 373 

usual height. Thus fettered, he is ridden an hour or two. 
After a month's tuition, if the process has been commenced at 
an early age, the animal has acquired a delightfully easy pace, 
here considered the perfection of equestrian motion. 

In Honduras the wealthy haciendador aspires to the reputa- 
tion of being a thorough farrier, preserving within the recesses 
of some old cabinet a variety of rude veterinary instruments, 
with which he delights to operate upon such animals as may re- 
quire it. 

While at San Roque, a rnanada, with a number of wild colts 
following the mares, was driven into the principal corral or pen. 
The object was to catch and break these young animals, who 
were pointed out by the mayor-domo as the crowd of horses 
leaped the lower bars, and coursed round the inclosure with wild 
and vicious looks. The colts to be broken first were selected, 
and quickly secured with the lazo. From here they were led 
starting and trembling into the patio, wild as zebras. They 
were thrown upon the ground, blindfolded, and the ears tucked 
under the frontlet, to exclude sight and sound as far as possible, 
a young aspirant for equestrian honors sitting on the head of 
the animal to prevent his struggling. The jaquima, or head- 
stall, being firmly placed, the boy sprang away, when the horse, 
with a terrified snort, gained his feet ; but, feeling the strain 
of the riatta attached to his nose, he darted blindly about the 
yard, sometimes dashing heavily against the fence, or suddenly 
leaping among the group of spectators in the porch. 

At last, exhausted with his eftbrts, he stood panting and 
trembling, when the vaquero, feeling gently along the extend- 
ed line, approached, and gradually accustomed the animal to the 
touch of his hand. The operation of saddling now commenced, 
which required the greatest caution. Convulsive starts and 
kicks accompanied the operation until the saddle was firmly girt- 
ed, when one of the boys sprang into it. Once there, and all far- 
ther resistance was useless. Fixing his bare feet firmly into the 
stirrups, the rider bent forward and skillfully twitched away the 
blindfold, when the horse, wrought to desperation with fright 
and rage, dashed through the entrance and sped away into the 
plain. Every contortion of body, wild leaps and plunges, seem- 
ed only to afford the swarthy little monkey the utmost delight. 



374 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

His " hoo-jpah^^'' followed by a fearless yell, mingled with the 
savage snorting of the noble creature he bestrode, but neither he 
nor the passive group of spectators manifested any anxiety. 

After half an hour's curvetting the horse showed symptoms 
of fatigue, when his rider, getting him more in hand, ran him at 
full gallop in half mile circles over the greensward, and only re- 
turned to the house when the animal, completely exhausted, his 
flanks flaky with froth, had succumbed to the art of the rider. 
Haifa dozen such exercises, and the horse is pronounced aman- 
sado, or tamed. 

We remained several days at San Roque, where I had an op- 
portunity of noticing many of the rare plants and trees I had 
elsewhere examined. The sweet potato was also growing here. 
Palms of the most luxurious foliage tower above the plain. A 
professed botanist would be required to obtain a correct list of 
the variety of palms of Central America. Besides those which 
are commonly seen, there are many that are unknown beyond 
the secluded land that nurtures them, except by the local name 
given by the ignorant inhabitants, or perhaps descended from the 
aboriginal Indians. Its uses are multitudinous. According to 
Humboldt and Van Martens, the native obtains from the nu- 
merous varieties of the palm, sugar, flour, salt, oil, wine, weapons, 
thread, wax, utensils, food, and habitations ! The tree is the 
feature of the tropical landscape, and in Olancho its luxuriance 
exceeds, it is said, all other parts of Central America. 

Of the above curious list of productions of the palm, I often 
tasted the wine obtained from the species called the coyol, and 
hence known in Honduras as the vino de coyol. The corrosa 
palm, bearing a palatable nut, not unlike the pistachio in flavor, 
resembles the coyol in size and foliage ; but the former produces 
no nut, while the juice known as palm wine yielded by the lat- 
ter causes sickness and cutaneous eruptions. 

The coyol is principally valued for the delicious wine, so cel- 
ebrated in the tropics for its vinous sweetness and the. quanti- 
ties that issue from a single tree. Among the Indians it is 
customary to climb this palm, and, boring a small hole immedi- 
ately below the leaves at the top, insert a small tube of a hol- 
lowed reed or rolled leaf, through which the sap flows into a 
calabash suspended at the end. 



LA HERRADURA. 375 

On the haciendas the tree is hewn down, and, after being 
shorn of its crown of leaves, is dragged to the house, and an in- 
cision, perhaps a foot square, made near the end. This is cov- 
ered over, and in a few days is found filled with the wine or 
juice of the tree. After this, about three quarts a week are 
regularly obtained from this source. It has a white, wheyey 
appearance when new, and is very refreshing. After two days 
fermentation takes place, when it assumes an intoxicating pow- 
er, and becomes a pungent, luscious beverage. A tightly-cork- 
ed bottle of new coyol Avill burst on the second day after being- 
drawn from the tree. Most families have their coyol near the 
house. The expense of cutting and preparing it does not ex- 
ceed a real. A tree usually yields from five to six gallons be- 
fore becoming exhausted. It is sometimes mixed with wild 
honey, and proffered to the visitor as a great delicacy. Unlike 
the corrosa wine, that obtained from this palm is beneficial in 
many diseases, and is considered particularly efficacious in fe- 
vers. At San Eoque we were constantly regaled with this bev- 
erage. 

At noon on the following day we left the hacienda, and trav- 
ersing a well-wooded, undulating country, but suffering with 
drought, we arrived at dark at the estate of La Herradura, or 
the Horseshoe. This estate differs little from the principal 
haciendas of this region. The buildings are small and in bad 
repair. Some thirty persons reside here ; and the proprietor, 
Don Ignacion Meza, a young Olanchajio, who had just taken 
to himself a wife, walked out to receive us, but quickened his 
pace into a run on recognizing the Padre Buenaventura. 

We entered the house, and were introduced to the senora, a 
blushing muchacha, who welcomed us to the hacienda with cor- 
diality and no lack of natural grace. The little Arroyo de los 
Zqpilotes flows near the house, and discharges, it is said, into 
the Guayape some ten miles to the eastward. During part of 
the year it is dry. 

Among the legends of Olancho is that from which this haci- 
enda received its name. As to its truth, the reader must form 
his own opinion. Don Ignacion related that in the days of his 
ancestors gold must have been plentier than iron, and in proof 
of its abundance, that a golden horseshoe was found on the es- 



376 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

tate, "and consequently," said he, "it must have been cheaper 
in those days to use gold than iron." 

" What became of the horseshoe, senor ?" said I ; " and why 
is this the only one that was found ? It seems to me that more 
than one horse must have cast a shoe." 

" Ah ! those profligate ancestors of ours probably had the 
shoes melted down into coin after the destruction of Olancho 
Viego. But this is not all. You know gold is very heavy." 

" Yes, senor ; but what of that ?" 

" Why, in the early days of Olancho, the fishermen had nug- 
gets of gold to sink their cast-nets in the river. The pieces 
have been found in the bed of the river with holes in them, 
made for the purpose of fastening them to the nets." 

"Where were these pieces found, seiior?" 

" Oh, at Aleman, el Murcielago, and other places on the up- 
per river, near the estates of the Zelayas." 

The padre corroborated this statement, and said he well re- 
membered when there were stories current of such discoveries. 
Fearful of putting a stop to these details by expressing a doubt, 
I continued, 

"What else do you > remember, Don Ignacion, of the old 
chronicles ?" 

" You have heard of the will of Seiiora , at Manto ?" 

I had heard of this document at Jutecalpa, but desired my 
host to repeat the narration, which was in substance as follows : 

"More than two hundred years ago the gold was first dis- 
covered in Olancho, and every body had as much as he could 
take care of. It was so plenty that with a stick one could go 
and dig out a pound in a day." 

" A pound, senor !" said I, incredulously. 

"Yes, seiior; and more than a pound — more than a pound. 
The ancestor of Senor Ayala, at Jutecalpa, had at one time 
fifty pounds of gold in his house, which he obtained of the In- 
dians by trading with them." 

" It is true, Don Guillermo," added the padre. " He was one 
of our richest men. But that was not surprising. If you will 
look into the writings of the old Spanish authors, you will read 
of the celebrated gold mountains of St. Andres, in the Depart- 
ment of Comayagua; there they found equal quantities." 



LEGENDS OF THE GOLDEN AGE. 377 

" Well," continued Don Ignacion, "in those days, senor, there 
was too much gold. Ship-loads — millions — went to Spain to 
swell the king's treasury ; he had a liffch of all that was dug. 
In those days an old woman who had not been long residing in 
Olancho died, and left by her will seven head of cattle, and five 
horses, and half a celemine (half a peck) of chisjpas^ nuggets, 
and dust of gold, but with the condition that, though the gold 
could be disposed of as pleased the heirs, the cattle and horses 
must be kept in the family." 

" And why was this ?" 

" Simply because, in those days, the raising of cattle had only 
commenced ; cattle were scarce and valuable, but gold — any 
body could get it that had a mind to dig for it." 

" But what about Olancho Viejo, sehor, that I heard you just 
now mention ?" 

Here fadre Buenaventura assumed the thread of discourse, 
and said, 

" You have heard me speak of that doomed city before now, 
my friend. It is a subject that the Olanchanos are not fond 
of discussing ; but I shall tell you, nevertheless, that it was 
God's judgment that destroyed it, to punish a wicked and sac- 
rilegious people." 

It was evident that the padre was not desirous of speaking 
about Olancho Viejo in the presence of our host ; but I had al- 
ready heard enough at Jutecalpa to excite my curiosity, and I 
had made up my mind to visit the ruins on our route. 

The will or testament above referred to is said to be deposit- 
ed in the old parochial records in the town of Manto, about forty 
miles from Jutecalpa, and formerly the capital of the depart- 
ment after the destruction of Olancho Viejo. Jutecalpa event- 
ually superseded it, owing to its more favorable location. 

Early on the following moTning Don Ignacion had prepared 
for us a palatable breakfast, and after repeated ^^adios,'''' and in- 
junctions to pass the night there again, he answered with a low 
bow my salutation to la Nina JBenita, and our little cavalcade 
swept rapidly away from the hacienda. 

At a distance of ten or twelve miles out of our path stood 
the range of mountains, the loftiest peak of which, known as the 
Boqueron, or Great Mouth, had, according to tradition, opened 



378 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

and destroyed the ancient capital. A huge rent, resembling the 
place of a land-slide, was visible, and where an opening in the 
dense forest permitted, could be seen immense rocks, tumbled 
about in dire confusion as by some great convulsion of Nature. 
The mystery which had always attached to the place, and the 
superstition of the natives as to the probable cause of its de- 
struction, awakened my curiosity as we approached ; and, for 
the first time, I intimated to the padre my intention of visiting 
Olancho Viejo. 

" It is a place shunned by the virtuous and well-disposed, my 
friend," said he, " and I should be unwilling to incur the fate 
of numerous persons who are said to have perished by a similar 
exhibition of ill-judged curiosity. Let me advise, Ai/o, that we 
keep on direct to Catacamas, and not trouble our heads about 
that accursed place. Besides, the servants will not accompany 
you on any consideration." 

All my entreaties were in vain ; and, as we had now arrived 
at a point where to proceed toward the eastward would increase 
our distance from the ruins, I stopped my horse and again beg- 
ged the padre to accompany me ; but, either from superstition, 
or a disinclination to diverge from the path, he absolutely re- 
fused. Finding I was bent on going, he assured Victor that 
there was no danger, and that he must make the trip with me. 
Encouraged by this, my boy reluctantly prepared for the trip. 

" Meantime," said the padre, " I will continue on to El Real, 
which is on a plain path from here distant about twenty miles 
by the windings, and you shall follow me there to-morrow. 
The hacienda of Penuare is but a few miles on the eastern 
slope of the hills, and you will easily find it by the cattle-paths. 
Since you are determined to see the ruins, note every thing of 
importance, and let me know. Adios, mnigo /" and the padre 
wheeled his horse toward the road to El Real, and, with his serv- 
ant, was soon out of sight. 



THE STORY OF ANCIENT OLANCHO. 379 



CHAPTER XXI. 

The L^end of Olancho Viejo. — La Corona de Cuero. — A Golden Statue. — De- 
struction of the Town. — Desolation. — Appearance of the Ruins. — Hacienda of 
Penuare. — CJiichilaca. — Bees. — Honey. — El Real. — Padre Morillo. — Skeleton 
Cattle. — An Olanchano at Home. — A Touch of the Calentura. — La Higadera. — 
English Enterprises. — A Marriage Story. — Alligators. — The Road to Cataca- 
mas. — Scene at Sunrise. — Adventure with a Cougar. — The Ferine Animals of 
Olancho. — Catacamas. — Appearance of the Town. — Trade. — Indian Inhabit- 
ants. — A Ride to the Guayape. — A Macaw Convention. — Feather Robes. — 
Scene on the River. — Santa Clara.— Deer Stalking. — Quebrantehuesos. — Veg- 
etable Ivory. — A Death Scene. 

ViCTOE packed mv blankets on his horse, and preceded me in 
the path toward the ruins. Bj his account, obtained from oth- 
ers, it appears that, excepting the vaqueros, who sometimes ven- 
tured near in quest of stray cattle or mules, few had had the au- 
dacity to approach the site of the old town since, by some con- 
vulsion of nature, it was destroyed. The story he related was 
the same in effect that I had before heard, and was in accord- 
ance with the natural superstition of a secluded and primitive 
people of the Catholic faith. 

The great wealth of Olancho in olden time had centred at the 
ancient town, which was once a sort of local emporium of fash- 
ion and luxury. The owners of cattle estates resided there, and 
collected immense treasure by mining operations on the Upper 
Guayape, and by purchasing gold of the Indians. The inhab- 
itants, however, were niggardly ; and, although they had such 
quantities of gold that the women wore nuggets of it in their 
hair, they withheld their hoards even from the Church, and were 
consequently stricken by Divine wrath. In one of the churches 
a golden statue of the Virgin had been ordered by ecclesiastical 
authority, but the people were slow with the necessary contri- 
butions. The body of the statue was completed, but there be- 
ing an indifferent supply of gold for the crown, the sacred brows 
were enriched with a ^^ corona de cuero^^ (a crown of hide). The 
padre of the church protested ; but these infatuated wretches, un- 



380 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUKAS. 

mindful of the wealth thej were enjoying hj the special favor of 
the Virgin, snapped their fingers in the face of this holy man ! 

The infamous desecration of the Holy Mother was speedily 
avenged. While the population were collected in the church, 
the mountain broke forth with terrific violence, and in an hour 
the whole town was destroyed with showers of rocks, stones, 
and ashes. Many were killed, and the remainder fled affright- 
ed out of the place. After the destruction, some few ventured 
back, but were seized with sudden sickness and died on the 
spot. Those who escaped set their faces to the north, and 
journeyed to the coast in search of another site, carrying with 
them the crown of hide, which alone had been preserved from 
the general wreck. They pitched upon what is known as 
Olanchito (little or new Olancho), now the chief town of the de- 
partment of Yoro after Truxillo. Here they erected a church, 
where may yet be seen (so says the legend) the identical corona 
de cuero, lying at the feet of the figure of the Virgin, an emblem 
of Almighty wrath, and the manner in which impiety is pun- 
ished. 

This very Catholic narration, however, does not tally with 
Juarros, who names Diego de Alvarado as the founder of San 
Jorje de Olanchito in 1630. But the purposes of the Church 
were served, and, as was the case with some of the old chroni- 
cles, the truth of history was a secondary consideration to the 
advancement of the true faith. 

Comparing all statements, traditionary and others, I was 
doubtful whether Olancho Viejo had been overwhelmed by a vol- 
cano or by a land-slide. But, though there are no evidences of 
volcanic eruptions on the Atlantic side of Honduras, I was in- 
clined to the former, having, from the hills near Jutecalpa, ob- 
served the mountain ridge immediately overlooking its site, and 
on clear days distinctly seen the chasm, possibly an ancient 
crater, whence had issued the eruption. 

Within a mile of the ruins we came to a jungle, broken with 
deep pits, fallen trees, and climbing parasites, passing laborious- 
ly through which we at length reached the object of my search. 
The town could never have been a large one, probably not con- 
taining more than three or four thousand inhabitants. A more 
desolate spot could not well be imagined. These were no state- 



A RUINED TOWN. 



381 




OLANCHO YIEJO. 



ly or distinguished ruins : no fallen pillars were here ; no shatter- 
ed statues or broken fragments of architectural design, no monu- 
ment of art or luxury. The wind stirred ominously among the 
leaves, which seemed to whisper of musty legends and deeds of 
the early adventurers. The atmosphere of the place was alto- 
gether wild and solemn, and well calculated to excite awe in 
the minds of the naturally superstitious. 

I could discern only occasional traces of adobe houses once 
clustering in neighborly fraternity ; but the winds had scattered 
far and wide the very dust to which they crumbled. A few 
square stones, resembling hearth-stones, suggested yet sadder 
thoughts of scattered kindred and the broken ties of home. A 
scanty vegetation had overgrown the desolated waste. Victor 
crossed himself, and uttered his universal exclamation, " Ca- 
ramha /" 

We fastened the animals to a tree, and penetrated into what 
appeared to have been the^Plaza, and a heap of crumbled adobe 
denoted the site of the church. 

" Well, Victor," said I, " here we have the punishment of the 



382 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

sacrilegious ; Ibut as we are good Christians, we need not fear at 
this late day." 

"I don't know, Don Guillermo," he replied, "but I dislike the 
look of things here very much. Let us quit, and make for the 
house of Senor Ordoiies toward the river." 

But I had not yet satisfied myself, and we proceeded cautious- 
ly toward the foot of the mountain. The scene increased in 
strangeness as we advanced. Here and there grew still the^'o- 
coTol, proffering in vain the domestic gourd, or drinking-cup, 
and the taller guacal depending its giant calabash, or washing- 
tub, where the voice of the lavadera had long been hushed to 
silence. One lofty ceiha, up which entwined the white and red 
bell-flowers of the creeping laines or parasitical vines, stood, 
like a queen, proud and sorrowful, on the field where her race 
had fallen. The few other trees, stunted and ugly, seemed to 
stare desolately at each other ; and upon one protruding leafless 
branch sat an old monkey, a wandering native of the jungle, a 
traveler lonely as ourselves. An expression of painful solici- 
tude wrinkled his aged features as he sat, alternately scratching 
liimself, and regarding our movements with ludicrous intensity. 

There were no evidences of scoria or volcanic substances, or, 
if any existed, they had become covered with the loam formed 
by the accumulation of leaves and the annual washings from 
above. The steep mountain side before us, up which there ap- 
peared no path among the matted thicket, forbade our attempt- 
ing an ascent to the summit ; but from below there seemed to 
have been either a sudden and awful land-slide (a conjecture fa- 
vored by the surface of bare rock down the chasm), or an an- 
cient crater exists at the top. The ashes mentioned in the com- 
monly received narration consisted probably of the dust raised 
by the crushing to pieces of dried mud houses — adobes. 

How Olancho Antigua was destroyed is a matter of conjec- 
ture; but that a thriving and well-located town once existed 
there is beyond dispute. It is generally believed that much 
gold lies buried beneath the ruins, but no one is valorous enough 
to seek it. Oblivion has thrown her mantle over the place, and 
only exaggerated monkish legends remain to tell of its former 
existence. 

The sun was in the west when we remounted and left the for- 



HACIENDA OF PENUARE. 383 

bidding precincts of Olancho Viejo. The nearest hacienda was 
that of Penuare, to reach which we were obliged to cross the 
Rio de Olancho (named, I presume, after the old city), and to 
traverse some ten miles of dark woods, with an uncertain path, 
and the probability of passing the night with the sky for a roof. 
I now appreciated Victor's prudence in packing the blankets. 
The river of Olancho, which winds rather romantically around 
the base oi JEl Boqueron,td^e& its rise toward Manto, and emp- 
ties into the Guayape half way between Catacamas and Jute- 
calpa. We forded it without difficulty, and, entering the forest, 
followed what appeared to be a cattle-path until all light, except 
from the interstices in the foliage above, was completely shut 
out. 

Here, I imagined, was a fit haunt for the prowling cougar or 
tiger, and after our arrival at the hacienda we found that cattle 
had been destroyed in these woods only a week before. Before 
our return we had ocular demonstration of the reality of the 
cougar. It was night, when the glimmer of a distant torch and 
the bark of a dog showed that we had followed the right path. 

Penuare is owned by the heirs of Senor Jesus Ordoiies, of 
Santa Maria del Real, or, in shorter parlance, El Real, the shire 
town or capital of the municipality of that name. The three 
brothers resided at the hacienda, and extended the customary 
welcome to us. I was the first American they had ever seen, 
and was regarded by them with great interest and curiosity. 
Here we found the Padre Buenaventura, who had abandoned his 
idea of reaching El Real, and was yielding to the seductions of 
a cup of coffee and a cigarro as we arrived. 

After recounting our adventures at Olancho Yiejo, at the 
mention of which the brothers crossed themselves, we entered 
our hammock, and only awoke with the screaming of several 
lusty game-cocks, which, for protection against the little gatos 
of the surrounding woods, were perched at night on a roost 
erected in one corner for their use. 

In the jpatio at Penuare was a curious domesticated wild fowl 
called chichilaca, or chicken-nurse, from the use made of it by 
the natives in the double capacity of nurse and champion of the 
chickens. It is said to take better care of the brood than the 
veritable proprietress herself, who is often removed after having 



384 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

superintended the arduous process of incubation to make room 
for the interloping chichilaca. 

Master Lionel Wafer describes the same bird in 1699 as he 
saw it at Darien. " It is a stately kind of land-bird, called by 
the Indians Chicaly-Chicaly. Its Noise is somewhat like a 
Cuckow's, but sharper and quicker. 'Tis a large and long Bird, 
and has a long Tail, which he carries upright like a Dung-hill 
Cock. His Feathers are of great variety, of fine, lively colors, 
red, blue, etc." His description, though written more than a 
century and a half ago, presents the bird correctly. The chi- 
chilaca will fight lustily in defense of his charge with hawks or 
small animals. 

The customary parials or bee-hives were swinging in the 
porch of the hacienda. Honey and wax are among the many val- 
uable products of Olancho, and in these two articles the depart- 
ment exceeds any other section of Central America. The hive 
consists of a log of wood (generally a piece of the limb in which 
the swarm has located in a wild state). This is hung up with 
hide thongs under the eaves, and a small hole gives egress and 
ingress to the occupants. Penuare produces a large amount of 
honey and wax, which reaches the coast by various routes. 
The honey is contained in little bags two inches in length, 
which are ranged in rows along the hive. The cells of comb 
for the young occupy the centre. 

Some idea may be obtained of the extent to which this busi- 
ness might be carried from the fact that there are known in 
Olancho fourteen distinct species of honey-bee. The names of 
these are local, and are as follows : JElprieto, or black bee ; el 
bianco, or white bee ; el aluva (nearly the same) ; el jimenito, 
el chichigua (the sting of which causes an itching like that of 
the musquito), el zojpilote, or buzzard bee ; el talnete, el suculile, 
elpanta, el panal, or hive bee ; el quema, el sunteco hlanco, el 
sunteco jprieto (different species from the first two above men- 
tioned), and eljoverito, or la miris. This last deposits a small 
nest of capsules or pills, with a waxy covering like isinglass. 
These are filled with a delicious fluid, which is used principally 
for medicinal purposes. Liquid honey is found in nearly every 
tienda in Olancho, and even in Tegucigalpa I paid but ten cents 
a quart for it. The bees are diminutive, arid mostly stingless. 



SANTA MARIA DEL REAL. 385 

swarms of them may Ibe seen every day, when traveling in the 
open country, hovering around some decayed tree, and but lit- 
tle trouhle is necessary to bear the whole establishment to the 
nearest hacienda. One of the proprietors said he had sold wax 
and honey enough since owning the estate to buy all the drill- 
ing, mantos, and articles of that description required at the ha- 
cienda. 

We left Penuare early on the following morning, and arrived 
at El Real at noon. We had letters of introduction to Senor 
Francisco Meneia, the alcalde primero, Seiior Marcelino Urbino, 
and Nazario Vega, the latter the " syndic" of the town. We 
proceeded, however, directly to the house of the Padre Morillo, 
an old friend of Padre Buenaventura, where we made ourselves 
as comfortable as many fleas and a low adobe roof and mud floor 
would permit. 

The town stands not far from the junction of the River Real 
Avith the Guayape, which is here a formidable stream, capable of 
bearing the largest river steamers. I saw no obstructions to nav- 
igation in this vicinity. El Real contains some two hundred in- 
habitants, most of whom are descendants of theXicaque Indians, 
mentioned by the Spanish historians as occupying this part of 
Taguzgalpa at the time of the discovery. The Poyas tribe are 
probably the most numerous among these. This, as well as the 
other towns of Olancho, has its church, cahilda, and Plaza, the 
whole under the spiritual guidance of the good Padre Morillo. 
It is the nucleus of a little trade in deer-skins, balsams, sarsa- 
parilla, and hides. Several considerable Indian hacendados re- 
side here. 

Our host was a mixture of Indian and Spaniard, and a fair 
representative of the industrious agricultural tribe of Poyas. 
He was dressed in a pair of cotton drilling drawers and a shirt 
of like material. We lit our cigarros, and commenced ex- 
changing the news. He acquiesced in the general statement 
that this was a year of great scarcity, and shrugged his shoul- 
ders at my hints about the probable political turn of affairs for 
the ensuing year. 

" We have enough to do, senor, with herding our cattle, and 
preparing for the rodea or drive to Guatemala, without med- 
dling much with politics. Here we are out of election strifes, 

Bb 



386 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUKAS. 

and hardly care to record our votes. All is quiet with us" {to- 
do silencio). 

"How many cattle," I asked, "go annually from Olancho 
to Guatemala ?" 

" Quien sabe, senor? we must send many thousands, how- 
ever ; for, when the great herds start from the vicinity of Jute- 
calpa, we send up from here and Catacamas every year two 
thousand head bearing our marks {fiarros), and the Garays, 
Zelayas, Bustillos, Gardelas, and other rich families, send far 
more than we. There must be a hundred thousand head a 
year going into Guatemala, senor." 

"A hundred thousand head !" I exclaimed; "why, it seems 
to me, seiior, that you must be mistaken. At how many head 
do you reckon the entire cattle of Olancho ?" 

^'■Algunos milliones, senor. ''^ 

I saw that the old man's statistical information of the present 
day was scarcely more reliable than the legends of Olancho's 
Golden Age, and gave up thenceforth noting the numerical es- 
timates of the people. 

It is safe, however, to set down the cattle of Olancho alone at 
above a hundred thousand head, and the annual number driven to 
San Salvador and Guatemala at not less than two or three thou- 
sand. The increase is very great ; but, owing to the laziness 
of the people, hundreds of calves as well as grown cattle are al- 
lowed to perish of thirst, or to become mired in wading into the 
rivers at low stages of water to drink. Skeletons of cattle are 
found along the banks of the streams, where a few weeks' labor 
in preparing a road, to which the animals would soon become 
accustomed, would save large numbers. One of the strangest 
of sights on the banks of the Guayape is the collapsed and 
shriveled hides of defunct cattle, hanging like parchment on the 
framework of bones, and a sedate zopilote perched on top, delib- 
erately pluming himself in the sunshine, or croaking himself to 
sleep in the silent moonlit night. The losses of the Bustillos 
family alone by ignorance and laziness amount to several hun- 
dred dollars annually. 

The indolent habits of the Olanchano have passed into a 
proverb in Honduras. Imagine a native reclining in a ham- 
mock attached to the rafters of the hut, through the chinks of 



LUXURIOUS LIVING. 



387 




SKELETON CATTLE. 



which percolate the cooling gales of these paradisiacal regions. 
From above, and within reach, depends a luscious bunch of 
plantains or bananas. He swings leisurely to and fro, watch- 
ing the curls of his cigarro wreathing in fantastic figures be- 
tween his vision and the blue mountain peaks that form the 
green valley of his birth-place. To all the great issues and 
sounding events of the noisy world beyond and abroad, he has 
remained all his life in blissful ignorance. When appetite de- 
mands, he detaches a plantain, transfixes it upon a long stick, 
and, leaning out of his luxurious nest, deliberately toasts it at 
the embers smouldering near the door. This simple operation 
completed to his taste, Don Fulano hauls the fruit into the 
hammock, and discusses it stretched at full length in his swing- 
ing eyrie ! 

This description was given me verhatim, nearly as above, by 
a firiend in Tegucigalpa, as an illustration of the lazy habits of 
the Olanchanos. "As lazy as an Olanchano,'''' and '■'■Que 



388 



EXPLORATION-S IN HONDUEAS. 




OlanchanoP'' "when reprov- 
ing an indolent servant, are 
current phrases in Hondu- 
ras. But, as I have said, 
the care of their cattle ha- 
ciendas preserves a sort of 
pastoral activity, and the 
people, on the whole, are 
rather inclined to industri- 
al pursuits. 

At El Eeal I got a sec- 
ond touch of la calentura, 
from which the lower plains 
in this vicinity are not ex- 
empt. The symptoms have 
already Ibeen described in 
the pages relating to Tigre 
Island. My servant Victor stood guard for two days, defend- 
ing me from the assaults of several old curadoras, or female 
doctors, who insisted upon my adopting their prescriptions, not^ 
withstanding my inevitable reputation as a medico grande. 

One of the remedies for fevers and liver complaints in Olancho 
is of so remarkable a kind, that its description here will be read 
as a curious entomological fact. This consists of a drink made 
from the juice of the sugar-cane, mixed with a powder obtained 
from the dust of burnt insects, and known as la higadera, ow- 
ing to its particular applicability to liver complaints. The little 
animal that contributes with its life to this beverage is repre- 
sented to be the descendant of a species of grasshopper, which, 
from the several natural changes it undergoes, is called el Va- 
riable. In the spring of the year, this insect, after a short- 
lived visit above ground, buries itself to the depth of several 
inches in the earth, where it dies, after depositing a number of 
eggs in a cocoon. On the bursting of this, several winged 
creatures appear, who, in turn, leave a vast quantity of eggs, 
like those of the ant, under the bark of trees. From these 
shortly issue countless small white insects, which are gathered 
by the natives and roasted alive for the above purposes. Of 
the next change in the eventful life of the higadera, I could get 



ENGLISH ADVENTURERS. 389 

no definite description. The drink I tasted at El Eeal, and 
found it rather palatable. 

A few doses of quinine enabled me to issue again into the 
sunlight and air, and to use water for washing, which all my 
threats of future vengeance could not induce my faithful Victor 
to bring me. The two padres had prohibited him from allow- 
ing me to commit suicide by touching cold water to my face 
while sick ! 

El Eeal has its legends relating to the days when gold was 
so plenty in Olancho that not to have a quantity stored away 
was an exception to the rule. These, however, are but unin- 
teresting variations on those already alluded to. 

The Padre Morillo also referred to the time within his mem- 
ory when the Mosquito king came up the Patook, with several 
Englishmen, and attempted to assert his authority in all the 
towns along the Guayape, including Jutecalpa. The protector- 
ate at that time (1847) was claimed by Great Britain as embracing 
the whole of Olancho, and two thirds of Nicaragua and Costa 
Eica! Among those who then had it in view to establish an 
English colony at the junction of the Guayape and Guayambre 
was a Mr. B , who at the time figured extensively in Jute- 
calpa, to the scandal of the Garays and Zelayas. 

The padre, who was an eye-witness, related that two of these 
worthies were staying in Jutecalpa in 1847. One of them laid 
siege to the hand of the Senorita Teresa, daughter of Seiior Ga- 
ray, under the impression that the old man's speedy death would 
leave him master of family property which should then be di- 
vided between the two. The suit was successful. One even- 
ing, under the inspiring influence of aguardiente, the lover 
plumed himself in audible English on his luck, and allowed 
certain dishonorable plans with regard to the bride's dower to 
escape, which, unfortunately for him, were overheard by a Ja- 
maica negro, who had suffered from the brutality of Mr. . 

The negro divulged the whole scheme to the girl, who discard- 
ed the perfidious suitor. An attack was made that night by 
the two adventurers upon the house of old Senor Garay. Fol- 
lowing the plan of the buccaneers, they defied the town half the 
night, armed with pistols and swords. To injure an English- 
man at that time, whether in the right or wrong, under the famous 



390 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

policy of Mr. Chatfield, was equivalent to subjecting any sea- 
port to bombardment by an English fleet ; and though the peo- 
ple were greatly exasperated, they were restrained from killing 
or wounding the brawlers. 

About midnight the commandante militar, Don Francisco 
Zelaya, arrived in town from one of his haciendas. Hearing of 
the disturbance, he rode to the spot, and without hesitation dis- 
mounted, and disarmed the blustering couple in the face of their 
threats and weapons, and placed them in the cuartel until morn- 
ing. The next day they were dismissed from the town, and 
the pretty Nina Teresa was married a few months afterward to 
a gentleman of Tegucigalpa, where she is yet one of the most 
attractive ladies. The marks of the swords of the assailants 
are yet visible on the window-shutters of Senor Garay's house. 
This event created great excitement in Jutecalpa, and had its 
weight in breaking up the negotiations for an English colony at 
the plain of Las Flores. 

Our three days' visit at El Keal was quite sufficient to develop 
its lions, one of which was an enormous alligator from the Guay- 
ape, which was shot by a native while in the act of forcibly ab- 
ducting an adventurous pig from the bank where he was rooting. 
These creatures — called lagatos in Olancho — abound in the Guay- 
ape, from this point down to the ocean. In the Lake of Mes- 
cales, south of Catacamas, they are also found, and the swamps, 
or lienegas, in that vicinity are said to be alive with them. The 
one at lEl Eeal is the only alligator I saw in Honduras. 

I was not sorry, on the morning of the fourth day, after a cup 
of coffee and the sleepy adios of my friends, to mount and can- 
ter out of wretched, dirty El Real. The Padre Buenaventura 
had accompanied me on the trip partly to attend to some busi- 
ness matters there, and preferred to remain a day or two longer. 
I was fearful of prolonging my journey beyond the time I had 
proposed to meet General Zelaya at Lepaguare, and resolved to 
start for Catacamas at once. 

The route lies nearly east, and leads over two or three suc- 
cessive ranges of high hills — almost mountains — the names of 
which I neglected to note. We set out before dawn, in order 
to pass the extensive plain bordering the Guayape, on the oppo- 
site side of the mountains, before the heat of midday, which 



"DAY ON THE MOUNTAIN." 391 

here beats down with an intensity almost equaling that of the 
coast itself. Half an hour's gallop through the silent glades 
brought us to the foot-hills of the range, up which we proceeded 
at a rapid walk for the purpose of witnessing the sunrise, which 
promised to be a brilliant one, from the summit. 

The sun was just gilding the eastern horizon as we reached 
the plateau toward which we had struggled for nearly an hour. 
The view was an ocean of woods — a vast plain intersected with 
regular ranges — among which twined the Guayape and its trib- 
utaries like silver threads. A speck of glittering cloud hung 
over the rim of the mountains, but in a moment melted away, 
as " day on the mountains broke over the landscape." 

T]ie sky was so clear that the eye almost ached in searching 
the blue vault for a cloud to relieve the monotony. A cool air, 
fresh from the slopes of Santa Cruz del Oro, gently rustled the 
leaves near us ; but beyond, all was motionless and silent. I 
dismounted, and from a rock gazed off toward the rich lights 
fast climbing above the hills, until the sun came up, and pro- 
duced the magical effect which every tropical traveler will recall, 
tinting the mountains with a splendor no artist can imitate, 
and imparting a lifelike tone to the sea of green. 

Before us lay a ravine, into which a small stream emptied its 
gurgling treasures, pouring through the self-worn lip of a nat- 
ural water-vase. A venerable beard of green and gray moss 
depended from below, dripping with the pure element, and wag- 
ging with the motion of the torrent so as to convey the idea of 
a jolly old Bacchanalian indulging in a burst of hilarious hu- 
mor, except that the pure element he spurted from his mouth 
scouted the simile. 

The view was so extensive and enchanting that I had quite 
lost myself in its contemplation, and was wondering whether 
these great savannas would ever be peopled, when Victor ut- 
tered an exclamation, and pointed to the form of some beast of 
prey sitting on a high ridge near by, and who, as if unconscious 
of the intruders on his domain, was, like ourselves, gazing off 
toward the eastward, and perhaps cogitating upon the chances 
for a morning meal. 

I leveled my rifle, but Victor, in evident alarm, urged me not 
to fire — a piece of advice I afterward congratulated myself upon 



392 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

having followed. He pronounced it the jaguar, or lion of Hon- 
duras ; and, hastily gathering up his blanket, retreated down the 
opposite slope, where the horses were quietly grazing. Victor's 
alarm was contagious, and I was preparing to follow him, when 
the beast, after lapping his velvety coat a moment, arose to his 
feet, and, turning toward us, walked to within twenty yards 
of where we stood, and with ears cocked, and tail nervously 
playing around his haunches, honored us with an extremely 
aristocratic stare. 

'■'■ Garamba P'' muttered Victor, "it is the jaguar, in good 
faith ; he is taking an early walk; and see ! he walks this way 
again!" The animal, observing our retreat toward the horses, 
was now moving leisurely after us, and at so small a distance 
that his displeasure at our presence was plainly manifested by 
an occasional wrinkling of his lip, and the display of a muscular 
system that quite satisfied my curiosity on such points. 

Victor put both hands to his mouth and uttered a yell, caus- 
ing the animal for a moment to pause and examine us more at- 
tentively. This interval we employed in reaching and mounting 
our horses, who were now staring at the jaguar with dilated nos- 
trils and ears erect. Our new acquaintance uttered a loud sound 
between a snarl and a roar, and, either" disliking the glitter of 
my rifle, or influenced by that mysterious instinct which some- 
times deters the brute creation from an assault on man, walked 
slowly away, and disappeared into a thicket skirting the adjoin- 
ing hill. 

The jaguar is naturally a coward, and is seldom seen except 
in unfrequented places, whence he makes nocturnal descents 
upon the haciendas to the certain detriment of the cattle-owners. 
Half a dozen bullets are not always enough to finish him. 

One of these animals was killed, a few years since, near the 
hacienda of Uloa, with the reputation of having slaughtered a 
hundred cattle in his lifetime. His skin was suspended in the 
mla of Senor Garay, who presented it to me on leaving Olancho. 
This, with many other specimens, was stolen from my pack-sad- 
dle in Nicaragua. 

Victor attributed the fortunate issue of this adventure to his 
invocation of his patron saint and the Virgin, who, he said, never 
permitted the jaguar to destroy Christianos or good Catholics. 



BEASTS OF PREY. 



393 



v^^. _a 



The animal is provided 
with an array of most for- 
midable claws, used with 
wonderful quickness and 
force. The supple bound 
of the jaguar is what con- 
stitutes the terrific power 
of his assault. Like the 
leopard, he fastens himself 
with a desperate leap upon 
the back of his victim, and 
one spring will break the 
spine of a cow. Dunn 
thinks there is little doubt 
but that the tiger and ja- 
guar, bearing a strong re- 
semblance to the ounce, are 
the same animal in Cen- 
tral America. He is, how- 
ever, greatly mistaken in 
this opinion. The ounce is 
a much smaller animal. The tiger of Central America, as is as- 
serted by Byam, who lived two years in the wildest forests of that 
country, is the panther, and the jaguar is the puma, or South and 
Central American lion. Captain Henderson divides the ferine ani- 
mals of Honduras into the yelis oiica, or Brazilian tiger, and the 
felis discolor, or black tiger. Mr. Squier describes the black ti- 
ger, jaguar {felis onca), cougar or puma, and ocelot, as four dis- 
tinct animals. These, I believe, are the only two authorities mak- 
ing any mention of the black tiger as an inhabitant of Honduras. 
"No animal," continues Byam, "springs more quickly, and no 
wild beast attacks men more audaciously than the panther or 
tiger, but he is free from the peculiarity or vice that distinguish- 
es the puma-lion, and that is, that he never follows or dodges the 
footsteps of man." He frequents the loneliest mountains and 
the jungles of the Pacific coast. Honduras is full of thrilling 
stories of " e^ tigre.^'' 

The jaguar, or puma, is a sneaky fellow, equally feline in his 
habits, but less courageous than the tiger. Traveling through 




INDIAN LABOEEES. 



394 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

the lonelj passes, the voice of this midnight prowler comes with 
startling distinctness, and admonishes the belated traveler to 
seek the habitations of men. I know of no sound but the howl 
of the red monkey, or red-bearded ape, as he is sometimes called, 
that has such a melancholy effect on the mind as the shrill, pro- 
longed cry of the jaguar. The track of this animal may be 
known by a little mound of sand or earth behind where the ball 
of the foot has been placed. He is smaller than the panther, 
and not so bold, but follows the trail of man at sunset, and in- 
stances are recorded of persons being destroyed by them in the 
forest. Byam describes the jaguar's cry as "what a person 
might conceive to issue from an enormously overgrown tom-cat 
with several extra pairs of lungs." 

A variety of tiger-cats, some of them beautifully diversified 
with stripes and spots, abound in Olancho. The writer above 
quoted describes one that he killed in Segovia as having the 
belly and ground of pale yellow ; the back almost black, with a 
succession of black spots in irregular shapes from the back to 
the belly, but the spots diminishing beautifully and regularly as 
they approached the stomach. This cat was about the size of 
a pointer dog. 

Coyotes and small wolves are common, and are indefatigable 
hunters of the deer. At times, in droves, they even assail the 
tiger by driving him into a tree, and regularly besieging him 
until, hunger compelling the larger beast to leap to the ground, 
he is torn into pieces after destroying a number of his enemies. 

From the tiger to the squirrel, there is no lack of game in 
Olancho ; and amid such a variety, young America, in future 
generations, will find ample employment for his rifle, and tiger- 
hunts in Olancho may yet be the theme for the contributor to 
some tropical Knickerbocker or Spirit of the Times. 

From this adventure with the puma or jaguar, we pursued our 
trip along the ridge of the hill, and, commencing the descent, 
reached the plain, and followed a well-beaten track for the rest 
of the way. 

The Indian town of Catacamas contains about two thousand 
inhabitar^ts, and stands on the eastern bank of the river of that 
name, and not far from its junction with the Guayape. It con- 
tains a church, almost a fac simile of that of Jutecalpa, and a 



CATACAMAS. 395 

regular municipality government, of which a venerable Indian, 
Senor Vicente Sanchez, is alcalde primero. The houses are 
mostly tiled, and numbers of them are substantially built. Its 
population consists mainly of converted or civilized Indians, 
who have from time immemorial enjoyed a local reputation as 
industrious, frugal citizens. Occupying a part of one side of 
the Plaza stood the little cuartel, with one four-pounder can- 





INDIAN TOWT* OF CATACAMAB. 



non and a forlorn-looking sentinel. Some twelve soldiers, under 
command of Captain Pedro Muiioz, constituted the garrison. I 
bore a letter of introduction from Padre Buenaventura to Senor 
Vicente Salgado, one of the rejidores of the town, who received 
me in his house near the Plaza with the usual hospitality. 
This is the last settlement toward the mouth of the Patook 
River. The villages of Dulcenombre (sweet name), Rio Tinto, 
and La Conquista are mere hamlets, like those already de- 
scribed. 

The house of Senor Salgado, which was the largest in the town, 
had been lately tiled, and was now being carefully Avhitewashed. 
We rode into a paved j?«^zo, and, dismounting, we were received 
by a sedate Indian woman, the wife of the rejidor, who offered 
me a repast of cheese and chocolate, and ordered the passive 



396 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

Victor about with all the volubility of a Northern housewife. 
The evening was passed in discussing the topics of the day 
with my host, who was a fair specimen of a nearly pure-blooded 
Indian. He laughed heartily at the cougar adventure, and said 
that with a large stone or club I might easily have put the ani- 
mal to flight, a process which, as I observed to him, I should 
prefer leaving to others to perform. The old man offered me a 
bed of polished hide whereon to spread my maleta, and, with 
a '■'■j)asa huena la noche''' and a low obeisance, left me to my 
rest. 

At daylight we took a stroll about the town, which is consid- 
ered by the Indians as superior in all respects to Jutecalpa. I 
was certainly unprepared for a scene of so much prosperity. In 
the tnarket were displayed a variety of vegetables and fruits, 
and all the trades n^ecessary to the support of the people were 
actively conducted. 

Here and there appeared one of the less civilized members of 
the tribes who pass their time on the great river below, fishing 
or navigating the hsiW. pij>antes to the Caribbean Sea. A num- 
ber of diverging paths lead to the Guayape, striking it at sev- 
eral points, known as embarcaderos, or landing-places. Small 
plantations of yuca, maize, tobacco, rice, plantains, and beans 
are scattered in profusion for several miles around the town, 
which forms the centre of a considerable traffic. 

There are perhaps six thousand inhabitants in a circle of 
twenty miles around Catacamas, who obtain most of their for- 
eign goods through Jutecalpa, but are now establishing an in- 
creasing trade with the sea via the Patook. There are but few 
descendants of the Spaniards living here. The authorities are 
mostly Indians, asserting and apparently maintaining a quiet 
superintendence of affairs, partly after the primitive forms of the 
less civilized tribes, but really based on the municipality rules 
of the department. The people embraced Christianity many 
years since, and have found time to decorate the interior of 
their little church with rude pictures and wooden images of 
saints. 

A more peaceable and hospitable race it would be difficult to 
imagine. The rumor that an Americano del Norte was in town 
induced a number of the most inquisitive to enter the house, 



SCENE ON THE GUAYAPE. 397 

where I passed several hours swinging in the network hammock, 
smoking cigarros, and chatting with the simple natives. Not 
one had the remotest idea of the United States, except that it 
was ''^ el ISforte,'''' and the people '■'- mxiy hravo.'" My rifle ex- 
cited great curiosity, and some shots at a target at their request 
elicited shouts of approval, though the marksmanship was not 
of the best. Very few had ever before seen "an American." 

At night the Padre Buenaventura arrived from El Real, hav- 
ing concluded his business sooner than he expected. He brought 

me a letter from L , who had remained at Jutecalpa, giving 

me the particulars of a revolution in Yoro, and an invasion of 
Honduras by the Guatemalans under Guardiola. The exag- 
gerated rumors induced me to resign the proposed visit to the 
confluence of the Guayape and Guayambre. 

On the following morning we rode to the river. A few hours' 
canter over a heavily-wooded plain brought us to the noble 
stream, which there follows the bend of a range of mountains 
on the northern side. The Guayape, now augmented by the 
waters of the Jalan and several other tributaries above, rolled 
along to the sea with the quiet majesty of a deep, navigable 
river. Among the dense foliage of an island which here divides 
it into two channels were perched a multitude of parrots, hold- 
ing noisy council, and not a whit disturbed by our sudden emerg- 
ence from the shrubbery on the bank. I gave a loud halloo, 
when the whole flock took flight, screaming angrily at the inter- 
ruption, and several macaws added their harsh voices to the con- 
fusion. The parrots soon flitted past them in the general flight, 
leaving these splendid creatures streaming along by themselves, 
and looking like comets against the azure sky. 

The local name of the macaw in Honduras is the juacamalla, 
or huacamaya; in Nicaragua it is the lapa. The bird does 
not difier from the Mexican macaw except in having a smaller 
and more pointed beak. Its colors are splendid, and beautifully 
distributed : the breast, head, and back are of a deep glossy 
red ; the wings yellow, blue, and green ; the tail is composed 
of eleven blue and red quills, six of which are stout and short, 
the remaining five frail but broad, and, when full grown, fourteen 
inches in length. In flying, these are gathered close together. 
A grand convention of macaws, which may sometimes be wit- 



398 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

nessed in the woods, imparts a singular appearance to the foli- 
age of the great guanacaste, in whose branches they- usually 
hold their meetings. They keep up an incessant screaming, 
scrambling about, hanging by the claws, or swinging by the 
hooked beak, till the tree seems hung with gaudy banners as on 
a gala-day. Toward the coast the beautiful green species is said 
to exist, much more elegant than his rainbow cousin ; but both 
of these pale before the superb blue macaw, one of the rarest 
birds of the country. I heard of some domesticated in the town 
of Manto, but could never get sight of one. They are said to 
avoid the other members of the macaw family, and affect the 
vicinity of the Lean coast, between Truxillo and Omoa. 

From the different species of the macaw, the superb quet2el 
(a bird of the extremest rarity), the verderon, the pavon real (or 
royal peacock), the papagayo, urraca, pajaro Colorado, ruiseiior, 
oripendole (or pendulum-bird), and numerous others, among 
which should be mentioned a great variety of the humming- 
bird, the Indians of Olancho, especially the Poyas tribe, manu- 
facture articles of feather dress, such as caps, mantles, belts, and 
wreaths for the shoulders and neck, besides adorning with them 
their quivers and other articles of the skins of animals. The 
only specimen of this work I could obtain was that procured 
from an Indian at Jutecalpa during the funcion. In olden 
times these articles were brought to Jutecalpa for sale, but of 
late the custom has been discontinued. 

The Guayape, at the bend where we stood, presented the ap- 
pearance of having no rocks in its bed. The bottom, as far in 
as we could see, was of sand entirely. Several large logs and 
branches of trees had collected near by, just tilting, and bal- 
anced by their own weight against the force of the current. 
Padre Buenaventura pushed them out with his foot, when the 
whole mass turned slowly into the current, and floated down the 
river. The still places here are filled with excellent fish. The 
scene was one of wild solitude and sadness. From the mount- 
ain tops to the shady depths of the woods around, we heard no 
sound but the splash of the river, or the distant cry of birds 
on the opposite bank. A few hundred yards above us were a 
bevy of wood-ducks, hugging the shore and stemming the cur- 
rent to keep at a safe distance from our party. Several sad- 



RETURN WESTWARD. 399 

looking spoon-bills {Platalea Ajaja), and blue and white heron, 
stood silently contemplating the water, at times emitting a sin- 
gle harsh crj, as if angry at our unwonted intrusion. An eddy, 
circling in the deep current for a moment, showed where some 
huge catfish or alligator explored his way up stream. 

I gazed until the lengthening shadows admonished us to start. 
We returned by a road leading through the beautiful valley of 
Santa Clara, almost the counterpart of those before referred to, 
toward Lepaguare. Its carpet of green was now a dusky hori- 
zon, with the forms of cattle just discernible against the fading 
light of the west. 

The disturbed state of affairs in Tegucigalpa hastened our 
departure from Catacamas. I had time, however, to make an 
excursion toward the sources of a small arroyo emptying into 
the Rio de Catacamas, where I got a few shots at deer, wound- 
ing one, and packing home the hind quarters of another. The 
method of shooting deer in this section of Olancho is by " stalk- 
ing" them with a trained ox. The huntsman walks toward the 
herd on the off side of the ox, and thus approaches the animals 
to within shooting distance. On the road back to Catacamas, 
as we turned a sudden angle in the path, I found the way dis- 
puted by a flock of large, heavy birds, somewhat resembling 
wild turkeys, for which I at first mistook them. They arose, 
and flew slowly away as we came close upon them, and, but for 
an imperfect cap, I should have added some part of their plum- 
age to my collection. These are called by the natives qiiehrante- 
huesos (or break-bones), from the great strength of their wings, 
which, like those of the swan, are said to have force enough to 
break a man's arm. They are possibly a specimen of sand-hill 
crane, common to Eastern Texas. 

On this trip, too, I observed for the first time a vegetable 
ivory-tree, which, however, grows all over Olancho. The fruit 
of the tree is a rough mass or bunch of a very hard substance, 
covered with hundreds of pointed pyramids, from among which 
the nuts of vegetable ivory bulge out like plums in a pudding. 
These nuts are of the color and consistency of ivory. I never 
heard of their being gathered in Honduras. 

Half a mile outside the town I was stopped by a boy, who is- 
sued from a cane hut, and ran at full speed after me, with the 



400 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

request that, in the name of '•'-Dios^'' I would turn back and cure 
his mother. I had now quite exhausted my little stock of med- 
icines, hut, knowing the pertinacity of such applicants, I return- 
ed at once and dismounted. The woman was in the agonies of 
death as I entered, and so far gone that the breath passed from 
her body a few minutes after. I shall not soon forget the fran- 
tic gestures and beseeching look of the little fellow who had 
called me back ; and when it was evident that even the '■'■ATneri- 
cano del Nort^'' could not save her, he rushed screaming by the 
padre, and ran into \hQ platinal near by, where his cries and sobs 
were really piteous. It was useless to attempt to console him. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

The Platinal. — Plantains : their Cultivation. — Ancient Ideas respecting. — The 
Route home. — Pita. — Deer-skins. — Burning the Bolpochi. — Description of 
venomous Snakes. — Antidotes. — After the Ceremonies. — A nocturnal Prowl- 
er. — Peruvian Bark. — Rice. — The Olancho Air-gun. — Tobacco. — Return to 
Jutecalpa. — Gold Stories. — Musical Reunion. — Commissions. — The Depart- 
ure. — Lepaguare again. — A Visit to the Espumoso. — Mining Adventures. — 
Making a Contract. — " Kissing the Widow." — Cold Weather. — Hail. — Jote- 
jiagua. — The Gold of El Panal. — El Retiro. — Gold at Alajagua. — Rio de 
Espana. — ^A novel Method of Fishing. — Jutecalpa again. — Bad News. — Musty 
Documents. — Early Settlers. — A Morning Ride. — Good-hy to Olancho. 

One of the most beautiful trees in the valleys of Olancho, 
and indeed of all Central America, is the platinal, or plantain 
grove, which adorns every plantation. The plantain-tree, like the 
palm, is a feature of the country. It forms an impervious and 
protecting hedge around every estate. Its ample leaves wave and 
nod in the breeze along the camino real in many parts of the 
country. In the lowlands of Nicaragua and Salvador it grows 
with a luxuriance delightful to behold, and far in the arid peaks 
of the sierras of Honduras, thousands of feet above the sea, may 
be found the little platinal, nestling, green and flourishing, in 
some vallecito, with the rude hut of the mountain laborer peep- 
ing forth from among the leaves. At Amapala, the waves of the 
Pacific washed around the very roots of the trees, loaded with 
the golden fruit ; and far down the rolling waters of the lonely 
Patook and Tinto, these trees were found amid the wildest soli- 
tudes, where the seeds, borne by the current toward the Carib- 



THE PLANTAIN IN HONDURAS. 401 

'bean from the interior of Honduras, have lodged in the rich allu- 
vium, annually dropping their fruits into the rivers. 

An old botanical writer asserts it to be a native of the East 
Indies and other parts of the Asiatic continent, and probably of 
Africa. It was originally transported to the West Indies from 
the Canary Islands, to which, it is believed, it was carried many 
centuries ago from Guinea. It seems to have migrated with 
mankind from Asia into the numerous islands of the South Pa- 
cific Ocean, where, as in Central America, it has degenerated into 
several varieties. It was not known in America before the ar- 
rival of the Spaniards. 

It is cultivated with very little care. It attains its greatest 
perfection in a moist, rich soil, and in large plantations is set 
out in regular walks, or rows, about eight feet apart. It is re- 
produced by shoots, which arrive at maturity and bear fruit 
shortly after the first year. But, as the original root sends up 
new shoots each year, a sufiicient space is left for the increase. 
The stem gradually decays from the period of the ripening of 
the fruit, when the young shoots commence to put forth. Thus 
the plantain goes on producing to infinity : the flower, the half- 
formed, and the clusters of fully-ripe fruit, bursting with its im- 
prisoned luxuries, all mingling with the rich green foliage, to 
which their gay hues stand in a beauteous contrast. There is 
no such thing as the season of them ; it is a perpetual harvest, 
the tempting clusters bending themselves down within reach of 
the gatherer every week in the year. 

In olden times there was much mystery attached to the plan- 
tain, many intelligent persons in Europe being in utter igno- 
rance of it. Until within the present century, when the means 
of travel have become such as to place the most secluded coun- 
tries within shaking-hands' distance, very little was known of 
this, or many other tropical fruits, except through the medium 
of narratives of the old voyagers. 

In 1633, a bunch of plantains was sent from Bermuda to Dr. 
Argent, president of the College of Physicians in London. He 
hung it, "with the fruit thereon, in his shop, where it became ripe 
about the beginning of May, and lasted until June. The pulp 
was very soft and tender, and it did eat somewhat like a musk-, 
melon." Gerarde and some other old authors name it Adam's 

Go 



402 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

apple-tree, under the impression that it was the forbidden fruit 
of Eden. Others supposed it to he the grapes brought out of 
the promised land to Moses. This latter idea carries with it 
some plausibility ; a bunch of ripe plantains, or bananas, is a 
splendid representation of a gigantic cluster of grapes, requiring 
two men to carry it slung to a pole. Dampier, the old voyager, 
calls it "the king of all fruit." He says, " The inclosed fruit 
is no harder than butter is in winter, and much of the color. It 
is of a delicate taste, and melts in one's mouth like marmalet!" 
Plantains and bananas have never been articles of export, only 
enough being cultivated to supply the wants of the country. 
From a hill in the neighborhood of Catacamas, hundreds of 
small platinals may be noted, requiring little or no labor for 
their maintainance. 

My limited stay at Catacamas enabled me to collect but few 
valuable facts, verbal and documentary. Excepting the dusky 
faces of the Indian inhabitants, and a trifle less comfort and 
show in the method of living, there is but slight difference be- 
tween the town and Jutecalpa. We started homeward, as us- 
ual, at early dawn, and reached El Real at noon, cantering our 
beasts smartly nearly the whole route. 

On the way we dismounted to examine the plant from which 
the jenican ox pita is obtained for the manufacture of the grass 
hammocks common throughout the tropics. The plant is prob- 
ably the sosquil, from which the Sisal hemp is made. It is a 
cactus, not unlike the maguay or agave of Mexico, yielding the 
pulque of that country. It is not the same plant, however, 
bearing no pulque blossom, and only resembling it in the great 
height of its leaves, which come to a lance point, and are filled 
with an easily-flowing juice. The J?^7a grows wild in all direc- 
tions.; from it is made the rope of the country, cordage for boats, 
macates, thread for shoemaking purposes, all horse-gear, lazos, 
and the universal hammock. The leaves are cut close to the 
root, then laid upon a flat stone, and curried with a bit of wood 
shaped somewhat like the common rolling-pin. The pulpy mat- 
ter being thus expressed or rubbed out of the fibres, they are 
dried in shreds, called pita, and ready for manufacture. The 
rubbing process is not continued after sunrise, owing to the eflect 
of the sun upon the plant, its dust acting upon the skin like 
cowhage. 



BURNING THE BOLPOCHI. 403 

As we entered El Real, a hunter, with a mule-load of deer- 
skins, joined us from a by-path leading toward the mountains. 
These are worth from 10 to 12| cents each, and are one of the 
articles of export from this section. Instead, however, of being 
sent down the Guayape, the most direct route to the sea, they 
are carried on mules to Truxillo, or oftener to Jutecalpa, whence 
mule-trains go annually laden with them to the coasts. 

Crossing the little Plaza, I noticed a number of boys heaping 
up a quantity of fagots, as preparing for a bonfire. One of them, 
who stopped to talk with Victor, answered to his inquiries that 
a bolpochi or tamagasa was to be burnt at night. The tama- 
gasa, I soon learned, was one of the deadliest snakes in the coun- 
try, and an object of special vengeance whenever safely captured. 
In this ritual I recognized a continuance of the idolatrous cus- 
toms attributed to these Indians by the Spanish historians, and 
from which their conversion to Catholicism has not entirely 
weaned them. 

About eight o'clock a tremendous racket from the outskirts 
of the place set the whole population into a race to the spot, 
and, joining the movement, I came in view of a procession of ten 
or fifteen boys and old women, chanting an aboriginal jargon, 
which, with the fantastic dresses donned for the occasion, and an 
occasional harridan's dance and look, brought to mind some 
horrid incantation scene of tragic muse. The word '■'-holpochi^" 
another name for the tamagasa, was at times recognizable. The 
snake, whose bite is believed to be more deadly than that of the 
dreaded corral or saikan, is found in this section of country. 
The mordido de holpochi (or bolpochi-bitten) is instantly thrown 
upon his back, and copious drafts of aguardiente or other stim- 
ulant turned down his throat to preserve life until the padre can 
be sent for, who leaves all other occupations, day or night, to 
hasten to the scene, for the inexorable poison leaves the victim 
but a few minutes for shriving. 

The body is represented as quickly swelling, and, as discol- 
oration spreads, the affected parts grow gradually rigid. The 
sufferer becomes insensible, and expires a hideous spectacle. 
No remedy, not even the cedron or the guaco, both supposed to 
be infallible remedies for the poison of venomous reptiles, avails 
in these cases to avert certain death. 



404 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

Such was the account given me hj Seiior Meneia, who had, 
with hare feet and baton of office, deigned to accompany me to 
the Plaza to observe the progress of the ceremony. 

The bonfire before alluded to had just been lighted, at which 
the bolpochi was to be roasted alive ! and a fit subject for such 
treatment he appeared. Part of the procession consisted of a 
pole borne on the shoulders of two boys, in the middle of which, 
slung firmly by the tail, with his mouth sewed up to prevent his 
snapping his horrid jaws, hung the redoubtable snake. He was 
not far from three feet in length, about three inches around the 
largest part, and of a dark, spotted yellow hue. What with 
the excited gestures of the natives, the appalling accounts of the 
creature's venomous qualities, and the angry writhings and lash- 
ings of the bolpochi himself, I was already imbued with a whole- 
some dread of the snake, equal to that of the Olanchanos. 

Padre Morillo approached, and, after pronouncing a scathing 
malediction, cursing his snakeship in the name of the Virgin 
and all the saints in the calendar, the object of general wrath 
was thrust into the flames, and if any poison yet remained it 
was put to the test of such heat" as only a salamander could 
stand. 

Two natives had captured the snake ; one threw his poncho 
over him while basking in the sun, and the other confined his 
head to the earth with a crotched stick until his mouth was 
sewed up. They received the blessing of the padre, and, after 
the firing ordeal, a collection was taken up for them. I secured 
the eternal friendship of the padre by casting a dollar in silver 
reals into the basin. I suspected, with reason, that his worship 
retained, by private agreement with the Indians, a considerable 
portion. 

One of these fellows, I was told, had signalized himself }yy 
catching and killing bolpochis, saikans, tigers, and other "var- 
mints," and stood in the same relation to Olancho that Saint 
Patrick did to the Emerald Isle. The bolpochi is known in 
Yucatan, where he haunts the aboriginal ruins. The " barber's 
pole," mentioned by Henderson as among the venomous snakes 
of Balize, is probably the corral, bearing a local name. 

Of the corral, Byam says that, should a man be bitten, he 
falls immediately, his blood curdles into a thick, coagulated 



VENOMOUS SNAKES. 



405 



state, when he dies and becomes putrid in a short time. The 
corral is copper-red, with rings of yellow, Avhite, or black around 
the body. He is differently formed from most snakes, and is 
often seen three feet in length. The tamagasa or tommy-goff 
is scarcely less terrible. He is known by a vicious flat head, 
and sports an unsightly bunch on the back of his neck. The 
saikan has been supposed to be the corral under an Indian 
name : this, however, is a distinct snake, whose bite is often fa- 
tal. The taboba is another venomous snake, thought by many 
to be even worse than any of the above-mentioned. Its bite is 
absolute death. It is as common to Nicaragua as to Honduras. 
I have in my notes five well-authenticated stories of sudden 
death occurring from the bite of this creature. It is but eighteen 
inches long, but thick for its length, of a dark shiny brown, and 
very malicious. It has a large head, and makes a sound like 
the chirping of a cricket : this is the signal for all within hear- 
ing to rush from the spot. The taboba is said to be very slug- 
gish, and almost torpid during the day, and is reckoned a great 
sneak, as he only crawls between sunset and sunrise, and then at 
a pace to make up for his temporary inactivity. A finger bitten 
in the field or forest is instantly chopped oif by the companions 
of the sufferer. 

With such an appalling list of deadly snakes, to say noth- 
ing of the tamaulipas, tarantula, scorpion, and centipede, it would 
__ be inferred that Olancho is a 

universal nest for venomous 
reptiles ; yet, though these 
all exist, as in most intertrop- 
ical countries, they are not 
found in such numbers as to 
be dangerous. The boa, and 
other large but harmless ser- 
pents are known to exist, but 
my knowledge of them was confined to one seen at Santa Ur- 
sula in Nicaragua. 

So much space devoted to poisonous snakes merits to be ter- 
minated with a description of the best-known antidote, which I 
became familiar with, in the shape of a parasitical vine or creeper, 
clinging with delicate tendrils to its supporter. Thompson (p. 




THE 800KPION. 



406 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

66) refers to the astonishing antidotal powers of the guaco. It 
proves, he says, a speedy cure for poison from snakes whose "bite 
insures death in twenty minutes. The sufferer Ibites a small 
piece from the guaco, of which the root or branches are equally 
efficacious, and applies the saliva to the wound, and also swal- 
lows the saliva arising from mastication for a few hours, when 
all deleterious effects disappear. Birds known to feast on rep- 
tiles and snakes, and animals that have been bitten by them, are 
said to apply for relief to the guaco vine. The cedron is a more 
recent discovery. It is a nut, cutting like soft pine, and said to 
be equal to the guaco. The seeds of the snake okro, or vegetable 
musk, made into a paste and applied as a poultice, or taken in- 
wardly, and the plant known as the eryngo, are also known to 
be efficacious as antidotes to the bites of reptiles. 

I am afraid that the Padres Buenaventura and Morillo were 
not always shining examples to their little flocks ; at least, on 
the bolpochi-night at El Real they laid themselves open to such 
a suspicion. A large jar of aguardiente got into the house after 
the ceremonies, more than probably purchased with the contri- 
bution money, and it was quite peep of dawn when the two 
holy men retired to rest, which they did in apparent disregard 
to comfort, coiled up in most unclerical plight in a corner of the 
adobe. About noon they arose and ate in silence a pyramid 
of tortillas placed between them by a bedraggled Indian girl. 

After this late breakfast, Victor and the padre's boy saddled 
the animals, and we set out toward Penuare. As we issued 
from the town we overtook an Indian, who, of course, in the 
name of the '■'■ Santissimo Sacramento del Altar,'''' begged alms 
of us. The padre held back my hand as I was about proffering 
a small coin, and himself gave the fellow some change, saying, 
'■'• Hijo, aqui van dos reales.'''' The Indian shut his fingers over 
the gift and pursued his way. We were struggling up a deep 
cuesta, when we were again saluted from afar with boisterous 
shouts from our Indian friend. Almost breathless, he rushed 
up to the padre with, " Oh ! Seiior Padre, it was only a real you 
gave me." " Let me see," placidly replied the padre, counting 
the change, and quietly restoring it to his pocket, with the re- 
mark, " Hijo, a caballo regalado, no hai que mirarle el diente." 
(My son, never look a gift-horse in the mouth !) 



A MIDNIGHT PROWLER. 407 

The surprise depicted in the applicant's face can be imagined, 

but it immediately relapsed into the taciturn expression distin- 

ffuishino' the Indian race, 
o o 

We reached the hacienda after rather an unsocial ride, the pa- 
dre appearing to cogitate, with a depressed air, over the previous 
night's hilarity. On our arrival he dismounted, took a cup of 
coffee, smoked a cigarro, and dropped to sleep again. Early 
nest morning he awoke, cheery as a lark, and more than ever 
talliative from his late taciturnity. We continued our journey 
to La Herradura, where we arrived at nightfall. 

Here we were again welcomed by Sehor Meza and the Nina 
Benita, and, after a comfortable chat and smoke, retired for the 
night, with the view of an early start for Telica in the morning. 
About midnight a tremendous uproar in the adobe hen-roost 
aroused us, and Don Ignacion, with his two Indians, rushed 
with lighted torches to the scene of confusion, whence he com- 
menced a lusty shouting, answered at intervals by the screams 
of the Nina Benita, who sat up like a ghost in her bed. The 
night was cold, and the delay of finding my serajpe and rifle 
just allowed me to catch a glimpse of a beast of prey leisurely 
galloping up a neighboring slope with a rooster in his mouth. 
It was an ocelot or mountain-cat, who had scratched his way 
under the hut. A rifle-shot did nothing toward stopping him, 
and he soon disappeared from sight. As Don Ignacion re- 
moved the remaining fowls into the house, he said this was the 
third visit this animal had paid him, and that, in scrambling 
through the hole, he had dealt him two tremendous thwacks 
over the back, which accounted for his slow gait in escaping. 

In the morning we started again for Telica, and, passing 
through San Roque, with scarcely a halt to rest our horses, ar- 
rived at the village in time to assist the Padre Fiallos at his 
evening meal. A child at the door was blowing arrows through 
a hollow reed, which I then ascertained was a common instru- 
ment for the capture of birds by the Indians, a custom handed 
down by the aborigines. The reed, which is usually about four 
feet long, is polished inside by a peculiar process. It is charged 
with a poisoned arrow, insuring instant death to the wounded 
bird. 

At Telica was a small field of rice, which throughout Olancho 



408 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDUKAS. 

grows without submerging or irrigation of any kind. There ex- 
ists scarcely any machinery for its preparation ; yet, with the 
rude manner of its cultivation, it forms one of the principal ar- 
ticles of food. The grains are white and small, and, I should 
think, of the best quality. E,ice is claimed to have been first in- 
troduced and cultivated in Olancho by Seiior Garay in 1829. 
A species of Peruvian bark {copalchi) is also abundant in all 
directions, and in Jutecalpa, where it is known as "^wma,"it is 
chewed for its supposed virtues as a febrifuge. This is proba- 
bly the same drug exported from other tropical countries under 
the name of " kino,''^ and manufactured into sulphate of quinine. 

Tobacco is cultivated at Telica as well as at most of the prin- 
cipal haciendas in Olancho. Enough only is raised to supply 
the home demand, its consumption being confined to paper-cigar 
smoking. It is indigenous to Central America, and grows in 
some places almost to rival the cultivated plant. The tobacco 
silvestre, gathered by the Indians beyond Catacamas, was prob- 
ably used for an unknown period before the discovery of Amer- 
ica. Columbus found it common among the Indians of Cuba in 
1492, and in 1565 Hernandez de Toledo sent a tobacco-plant to 
Spain as "a plant of the New World possessing extraordinary 
virtues." The seeds are usually sown in the shade of a tree, and 
the plants set out when about the size of a dollar. The cultiva- 
tion commences in November. The method of cutting and curing 
the leaf is a rude imitation of that pursued. in the West Indies. 

The tobacco of Santa Rosa, in the Department of Gracias, is 
the best known in Central America, excepting that of Sonsonate, 
in San Salvador. It is a source of revenue to the government, 
the right to sell the article being rented to the highest bidders, 
who, of course, enjoy the monopoly of the trade. With proper 
cultivation, the tobacco of Honduras might obtain a reputation 
it can never reach under the present order of affairs. Hitherto 
it has remained almost unknown to the world, but latterly the 
Santa Rosa cigars are becoming celebrated along the Central 
American coast. On the Transit Route they command a high 
price, and one cargo has been shipped to San Francisco from 
the Bay of Fonseca. Since the invasions of the Department of 
Gracias by the Guatemalans, the cultivation of tobacco, as well 
as of other staples, has been greatly retarded. 



LEAVE-TAKING. 409 

We rode into Jutecalpa on the following evening, somewhat 
wearied with the jaunt, but delighted with the new features of 
Central American life, manners, and scenery it had opened to 
our inspection. 

Another week at Jutecalpa. It would be needless here to 
detail the routine of little festivities to which I was invited when 
my determination to depart was known, or the complimentary 
\asits received from my many kind friends. One begged I would 
send the Americans from el Norte to occupy Olancho before the 
British could overrun it ; another promised to disclose the rich- 
est placeres in the department when I returned with a colony : 
another desired I would remain a few weeks longer to examine 
a vein of gold near the village of Agalta, some forty miles north- 
west of Jutecalpa, where gold could be seen by breaking off 
pieces of the quartz ; still another had afforded medical aid to 
an old woman in the Salto range, who, in return, had offered to 
disclose a locality where gold could be "scraped up;" this he 
would follow up, and write me the particulars of in el Norte. 
It is needless to say I have never heard since of the envpresario 
or his mine. 

On the night previous to my departure, a grand ball and supper 
was given at the house of Senor Garay in honor of my visit. At 
eight o'clock not less than fifty of the Jutecalpans had collected. 
The house was lighted with tallow candles. A band of guitars 
and wind instruments occupied the end of the room, and the 
dancing was opened by the Nina Teresa (the heroine of the 
courtship story before referred to) and a young blade of Jute- 
calpa named Alejo Jurmanito. Songs and guitar voluntaries 
followed. After each vocal effort, the gay wife of Don Santiago 
Zelaya would lean over to me and say, 

'■'■Ahora! coma le jparece a Yd. la musicaT'' to which, of 
course, I replied with my most elaborate praise. 

An audience with light hearts and simple wishes were easily 
excited to laughter, with which the house rang at frequent comic 
songs of Jurmanito. A keen appreciation of the ludicrous and 
love of mirth is certainly a distinguishing characteristic of the 
Olanchanos. 

After the ball, a few friends remained and gravely discussed 
the future prospects of Olancho, and on parting I received a spe- 



410 EXPLOEATIONS IN HOKDURAS. 

cial commission to bring with me on my return from el Norte a 
variety of carved figures and paintings for the church, a church 
clock, a pump, some silver watches, a package of pills and other 
medicines, fruit-seeds, fire- works for the ensuing yw?iC2C^, a num- 
ber of blue cloaks, fire-arms, cutlery, some ten chandeliers in 
which to burn candles for the church, and an endless amount of 
fans, ribbons, dress-patterns, and gewgaws for the ladies, all of 
which I was assured I should receive an immense profit on, and 
for which all agreed to commence at once the collection of hides, 
sarsaparilla, horns, tallow, vanilla, gold dust, and precious pro- 
ductions of various kinds. 

"We shall await," said they, "the arrival of the steam-boat 
coming up the Guayape, Don Guillermo, and when you arrive 
we will show all your friends how we can receive them inOlan- 
cho." 

On the following morning I rode through the streets, and, 
after exchanging hearty "^<^^(95/" with all, our cavalcade start- 
ed for Lepaguare. Roberto was crazy with delight at turning 
his face at last toward his dear Tegucigalpa, and as the bend of 
Sacate Yerde shut the town from view, he apostrophized the 
beauties of his native city with a well-known song, of which 
these are the two first stanzas : 

" Si me muero que me intieren 
Junto al sol del medio dia 
Donde nacen las morenas, 
De la hermosa Andalusia. 

Si me pierdo que me buscen 
Junto al sol del medio dia 
Donde nacen las morenas, 
De la hermosa Andalusia." 

The song, delivered with the nasal whine peculiar to the Span- 
ish vocalist, was assisted in the chorus by Victor, whose pleas- 
ure at the prospect of returning was quite equal to that of Ro- 
berto. Before recovering from their musical fit, they had sev- 
eral times shouted through the well-known and almost national 
cancion known as '■'■Mananita Mananita.'''' 

At Lepaguare I found the general awaiting our arrival. Here 
we remained a few weeks. The seiiora was slowly recovering, 
and, much to my gratification, attributed her convalescence to 
the remedios I had left on my last visit. I had my own opin- 



EL ESPUMOSO. 



411 



ions on this subject, but for obvious reasons did not express 
them. Here again, accompanied by the general or his brothers, 
I rode over the entire Zelaja estates, visiting all the best-known 
gold j)lace7'es, and making notes at the end of each trip. I lack 
space to describe each "gold locality" which we visited. The 
Almacigueras, San Nicolas, Barros, and others, all famous in 
Olancho, were in turn explored. Accounts of them would but 
repeat in effect what has been already written of other places. 
By far the most interesting of these excursions was the visit to 
the Espumoso or foam, a rapid and whirlpool in the Guayape, 




about midway between the Murcielago and the village of Ale- 
man. Here have been known in olden times the richest gold 
diggings in Olancho. Evidences of ancient workings still ex- 
ist, and very fine gold may be washed out from the earth or 
sand in every square foot of earth. Without machinery, or the 
methods now pursued in California and Australia, this gold could 
not be profitably collected, unless, as I suppose, coarser speci- 



412 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

mens exist below where any recent attempts have "been made. 
The ancients have possibly exhausted these diggings. 

Sehor Cacho, Minister of Finance of Honduras, at one time 
organized a company to work the Espumoso, supposed to be the 
richest gold deposit in the world. It is believed that the gold, 
brought down in fine particles from above, has lodged in the 
deep excavation beneath the falls from the fact that, though con- 
siderable quantities are found in the banks above, none is to be 
obtained below. The enterprise of Seiior Cacho, as well as that 
of several others whose attention has been drawn to this spot, 
was destroyed, as usual, by revolutions. In 1849 it was grant- 
ed to Mr. A. J. Marie, whose period of inception having expired 
while attempting to organize a company in the United States, 
the general swore at first that he would be at no further trouble 
in regard to it. He saw reason, however, to change his mind. 

The approaches to the Espumoso from Aleman, or the gold 
bar of Murcielago above, are picturesque and varied. The sol- 
itude is profound. No trace of human industry or of habita- 
tions — not even the smoke of a distant camp-fire to indicate the 
presence of humanity. We rode over hills reminding me of 
some parts of Massachusetts, wooded in copses, with a great va- 
riety of trees and shrubbery, separated by slopes and plains of 
grass. A low ridge, crowned with cedar, mahogany. India-rub- 
ber, and oak trees, impedes the course of the Guayape, which 
rushes down between walls of rock two hundred feet apart, 
plunging into a deep basin, or pot, which the torrent seems to 
have hollowed out for itself, as may be seen at the Merrimac, in 
the vicinity of Franconia. 

We stood near the bank, and contemplated in silence the 
tumbling, foaming water. To a Californian it was not difficult 
to picture a company of bearded, stalwart men building, as they 
do in these days, a grand water-way or timber-sluice to carry 
the torrent of the Guayape high over the Espumoso, and leave 
dry and accessible the treasury below. " Damming the river" 
it is sometimes called in California ; a process, in another sense, 
often applied to the river and all connected with it after a season 
of fruitless labor, but which, if tradition speaks truly, would 
hardly be the case with the Espumoso. The difficulties, how- 
ever, of turning the river, or even of conducting the waters by 



WKITING A CONTRACT. 413 

flumes above the edge of the falls, are very great, and will prob- 
ably never be attempted. The riches of the Espumoso are only 
conjectural, and can be tested by divers quite as satisfactorily 
and much more economically than by fluming. 

After several days of necessary Spanish delay, we seated our- 
selves one morning, after breakfast, around the great cedar table 
in the sola, and now commenced the formation of our long-moot- 
ed contract. At the head of the table sat Don Francisco, nicely 
shaven, and his gray, curly hair combed for the occasion. He 
had also donned his best suit. The brothers Jose Manuel, San- 
tiago, and Jose Maria occupied two sides of the table, L and 

myself the other. It was evident that the subject had been de- 
liberately discussed during my journey to Catacamas, the for- 
mation of a contract for the disposal of the time-honored Zelaya 
estates being too grave a matter for trivial consideration. But 
matters moved slowly. 

The least display of haste excited suspicion of some import- 
ant point to be gained which I was anxious to hurry beyond 
scrutiny, and extra delay was invariably the consequence. The 
value of every word was considered. The qualities to be studied 
in bargaining with Spanish Americans is jpatience first, then not 
to exhibit any anxiety or haste ; leave the business on hand, 
fall back in your seat, light your cigarro, and chat away on gen- 
eral subjects ; take a traigito occasionally, throw in an anecdote 
illustrating the rush of life and trade in el Norte, and affairs will 
go pleasantly enough, but never try to hurry a Central Ameri- 
can. 

By two o'clock, with frequent intervals, we had got through 
but three articles, which had been re-read and re-written until, 
what with alterations in Spanish and English, the letters fairly 
danced before my eyes. That night I lay thinking over the 
progress made during the day, and quaking over the anticipated 
revisals of the morrow. I remembered several bottles of Cog- 
nac sent from Balize, which had been placed in the alforjas on 
the morning of our departure from Jutecalpa by Seiior Ocampo. 

On the following morning, at daybreak, I produced one of 
these, and, drawing the cork, invited the general to taste the 
contents. His daily potations being confined to the aguardi- 
ente delpais^ he was not long in discovering the superior qual- 



414 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

ity of the Cognac. Before breakfast he had thriee renewed his 
acquaintance with the black bottle. 

We had scarcely renewed the consideration of the contract, 
when, in the middle of the fourth article, the general paused, 
and, turning to me with a bland smile, remarked, " Yamos a 
hesar la viuda /" (Let's kiss the widow). The rest of the com- 
pany wished to know who the general's widow might be, when 
the lady was introduced and placed on the table. It was not 
long before all present had paid their respects to the widow, who 
at last exhausted herself in dispensing her favors. 

Thenceforth the widow was the umpire in all disputed points, 
and such was her soothing influence that in three days the con- 
tract had been written, copied, and sent on its way to Jutecal- 

pa for official signature. L started for Tegucigalpa with 

Victor, the revolutionary rumors exciting his anxiety about 
home. The widow, however, did not cease her influence with 
the conclusion of the contract, but helped to keep the brothers 
good-natured until the whole gift of Don Opolonio was ex- 
pended. 

During these few weeks at Lepaguare, which was in Decem- 
ber and January (months commonly supposed to be far into the 
dry season of Central America), we had frequent showers, night 
and day, with thunder and lightning. Vaqueros came shiver- 
ing around the fires built in the court-yard, complaining bitterly 
of the cold. With the wind from the north, a fire was indis- 
pensable for comfort. I was assured that hail {jpiedras de gra- 
nizo) had fallen within a few days in the mountains, and that 
scarcely a year passed without hail falling in the higher ranges. 

The general made annual purchases at Omoa and Truxillo 
of cloths and drillings, which his own mule-trains brought up 
from the coast, and from which the surrounding haciendas were 
supplied. On Sunday the yard was filled with people from all 
directions, who, in turn, entered the house and carefully exam- 
ined the goods. From these visitors I obtained endless ac- 
counts of the gold mines, and many of them, speaking from per- 
sonal experience, seemed worthy of credence. 

Cerro Gordo, or big hill, stands on the plain of Lepaguare, 
fronting the hacienda, and here a woman, who had been a lava- 
dera, pointed out from where we stood a ridge of quartz rock 



GOLD LEGENDS. 415 

which she said was gold-lbearing. In the brook flowing at its 
base, great sums of gold, she said, had been washed out. An- 
other knew of twenty localities where " dry gold" had been 
found. The tnayor-domo of Ulua, who had been a gold-seeker 
in his day, asserted that the deposits in the Guayape were noth- 
ing to those of the Mangulile or Mirojoco, on the head- waters of 
the river Eoman or Aguan. Here, he says, pieces of gold have 
been found near the surface weighing more than a pound. 
These mines, he said, may be reached via the Roman River. 
"Lumps of clay had been found along the banks with pieces 
of gold weighing from two to three ^pounds, and of the mass 
riiore than half jpitre gold.'''' The recent discoveries on the 
north coast of Honduras, on the River Papaloteca, would seem 
to afford partial corroboration to the gold stories of that region. 

Senor Bustillos at Jutecalpa had received from President Ca- 
banas the appointment of Indian Superintendent of the tribes 
of Olancho, the object of the office being to protect them as far 
as possible in their relations with the other races. This gentle- 
man, to whom I had a letter of introduction from Cabanas, in a 
long conversation I had with him on the subject of gold, assured 
me that he had ascertained many startling facts relative to the 
former productiveness of the gold mines. Pounds of pure gold 
were brought in the olden time and sold by the Indians in 
Olancho Viejo, and especially in the town of Culmi, to the 
northward. The padres in those days knew their hiding-places 
for gold. They stiU, said he, have hidden mines of gold, which 
no coaxing will induce them to discover. There is a gold mine 
near Jutecalpa, continued my informant, bearing the aboriginal 
name of Jotejiagua, in the mountain of Sapote Yerde. That 
this was once immensely productive, the most reliable accounts 
attest ; but, after the settlement of the Spaniards, the Indians 
closed it up, and destroyed all traces of its existence. It has 
been the object of search for many years, and evidences of old 
workings and implements have been found, but never the mine. 

I should not here neglect the account given me by my old 
friend, Senor Garay, of Jutecalpa, of the gold deposits at his 
hacienda of El Panal, to the northward of Lepaguare, near the 
boundary of Yoro. In 1836, my informant was engaged in 
branding cattle on his hacienda, and there met with Senor La- 



416 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

vaeri, a Spanish doctor, who, failing in some silver-mining en- 
terprises in Mexico, had come to Honduras to retrieve his for- 
tunes. The doctor was now engaged in working a gold mine 
not far from the old man's hacienda. By a gold mine was meant 
that in one of the streams of that vicinity he had discovered a 
deposit of the precious metal, and had some rude machinery at 
work to separate it from the earth and sand. 

Seiior Garay visited the works, and, finding that the empresa- 
rio was a man after his own heart, he offered to advance the 
necessary funds, and also to locate the doctor where, if he was 
fond of working mines rather than owning cattle, he could get 
rich in one season. He took him to the Quebrada of Panal, and 
a day's washing with bateas yielded two ounces of gold. Soon 
after the doctor removed all his machinery to this spot, and 
took into his service another Spaniard named Butanzos, who 
acted as his foreman. After many days' labor the works were 
erected, and in a few hours the results of the crushing, filter- 
ing, or whatever the machinery consisted of, examined, when 
two ounces of fine gold were taken out. 

But this flattering success was destined not to be continued, 
for the machinery was found to be located on a bed of moving 
sand, or quicksand, and in a week was nearly all ingulfed. All 
operations gradually ceased, and Doctor Lavaeri went to the 
Mangulile River, where, after working two years, he returned to 
Spain with many pounds of gold. But in the week above- 
mentioned there was nearly a pound of fine gold taken out of 
the machine, which the narrator affirms he assisted to weigh. 
The wreck of the machinery may yet be seen at El Panal, where 
the old Don asserts there is a fortune in gold, and to any one 
who will go there and regenerate the works he offers to advance 
the necessary capital. 

El Retiro, already described as situated on the Guayape, is 
said to have been formerly worked by a native of Honduras 
named Pedro Herrero. To prevent the workmen from defraud- 
ing him, he allowed them, in addition to their wages, the use of 
his tools, and the privilege of working for themselves two days 
in the week. The remaining four days' work were reserved for 
himself, and he is stated to have received sixteen or twenty 
ounces of gold every Saturday night. But, added my inform- 



INTOXICATING FISH. 417 

ant, they always lost the fine gold, which is found in great 
quantities in the sand, by their careless wasliing. 

Another place on the Guayape, called Alajagua, was once ap- 
propriated by an old widow, who employed many workmen in 
gold-washing. A. jpou)id of gold to the hand is claimed to 
have been taken out at this place for many successive days ; 
but one day, following the lead under a cliff of earth and rocks, 
the whole caved in and killed five men. The padre came and 
cursed the spot, designated by two peaked rocks, since which 
none have had the temerity to work there, after exhuming the 
bodies. 

Yery rich mines are reported on the banks of the Rio de Es- 
pana, emptying from the southward into the Guayape. These 
places were formerly worked by the Spaniards, from which the 
river derives its name. The gold is very deep, for which rea- 
son the place is not worked except in the ancient diggings. 

A volume of similar accounts might be written to illustrate 
the former and present mineral wealth of Olancho. These bear 
exaggeration on their face, and I have repeated them as near 
verbatim as possible, that the reader may form his own opinion 
of their reliability. The best veins of Olancho were probably 
exhausted centuries since, but there can be no doubt that dig- 
gings yet exist that would prove lucrative if properly worked. 

A few days after my arrival at Lepaguare, I rode with Don 
Toribio to a place near the junction of the Almendarez and 
Guayape, where a chilpate fishing was to take place. On ar- 
riving at the river, we found a small party of natives collected 
on the banks of the smaller stream, engaged in spreading withes 
and a network of branches below a little series of falls or rapids 
above which the fish were known to exist in great quantities, 
especially the cuyamel, weighing often fifteen pounds when full 
grown. 

The preparations completed, a few women entered the river 
about fifty yards above the rapids, bearing with them a common 
batea containing a decoction of a vine pounded to a pulp, and 
known as the chilpate (possibly the Sajpindus saponaria), and 
which may be gathered in any required quantity in the plains 
and along the banks of the streams. This possesses the singu- 
lar quality, when mixed with the waters of a running stream, of 

Dd 



418 



EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 



stupefying the fish, causing them to float helplessly on the sur- 
face. When carried down the stream, they are taken by hand 
from the network below. The signal being given, this novel 
fishing apparatus was directed against the inhabitants of Al- 
mendarez. 

As the pale discoloration extended with the influence of the 
gentle current, my companion shouted to me to watch its ef- 
fects. x4.ll eyes were riveted upon the water. In a few minutes 
a commotion was visible beneath the surface, and frequent flaps 
from the tails of sundry inebriated fish indicated the working 
of the drug. 

The natives now ran below the falls to catch the victims who 
came floating down, some with fins or tails feebly wagging above 
the water, others " half-seas over," "regularly laid out" on their 
backs, and others as if under the effects of a systematic "drunk," 
struggling against the liquor, and apparently determined to keep 
on their fins to the last gasp. There were fish of all sizes, from 
the cuyamel down to minnows. It was the most ludicrous, and, 
at the same time, strange scene I had witnessed in Olancho, 
and seemed an unpardonable corruption of respectable fish from 
their original teetotal habits. 




Cini.PATE FISHING. 



AN UNTOWAED EVENT. 419 

Below tlie rapids the operations were not less curious. With 
the rapid accumulation of the victimized fish, we all rushed into 
the water and threw them out upon the bank. There were 
some five dozen in all, among which, besides those already- 
mentioned, were guapotes, peces, and a pretty species of speck- 
led trout. The smallest of the prisoners were thrown back into 
the water, where, after floating a while, they gradually became 
sober and swam away. 

The genuine sportsman will call this sad pot-hunting, and 
the disciples of Sir Isaac sneer at such a wanton desecration of 
Nature's gifts ; but let them live a few months on the general 
fare of Honduras, and their scruples would probably yield to an 
Olancho appetite. At least, I consoled myself in this manner 
while discussing a glorious fry of our victims on the following 
morning. 

I was just congratulating myself on the successful issue of 
my contract with the Zelayas when a courier arrived from Ju- 
tecalpa with the news that the two brothers there had refused 
to sign it on any conditions. The Guatemalans had invaded 
Gracias with Guardiola, a sworn enemy to all Americans, at 
their head. They feared his vengeance, and a war between 
Olancho and the rest of Honduras in consequence. The famous 
Eanney Expedition, with the claims to the Mosquito Coast 
(which perhaps might extend into Olancho itself), had arrived 
at San Juan. The news had just arrived from Truxillo, and 
there was an end to the negotiations. The brothers at Lepa- 
guare refused to sign the contract unless all would agree to it, and 
I now saw my air-castle tumbling ingloriously to the ground. 

I was not long, however, in persuading the general to ride 
back to Jutecalpa, where we arrived at night, and were received 
with the usual kindness. Another week here spent in arguing, 
persuading, and arranging, at last brought round the disaffected 
brothers, who signified their assent to the contract. It was sign- 
ed, sealed, and attested to by the proper authorities. 

On the last night, my old friend, Senor Francisco Ayala, 
jefe jpolitico^ allowed me to examine the departmental records 
of Olancho. These do not go back to the earliest settlement of 
the state by the Spaniards. At Manto, the former capital after 
the destruction of Olancho Yiejo, are deposited the records pre- 



420 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

vious to 1671, which was probably the year in which the seat 
of government was removed to Jutecalpa. 

The paper was coarse, but strong, bearing the government 
stamp. The documents are written in obsolete, abbreviated 
Spanish, and almost obliterated with age and the inroads of in- 
sects. Some of them were quite unintelligible. The patents 
from the Spanish crown, conveying the present Zelaya estates to 
Seiior Geronimo Zelaya in 1540, are said to be in good preser- 
vation at Manto. This cavalier, as Don Santiago, his descend- 
ant, affirms, came over with Pedro de Alvarado, and was the 
first settler in the valley of the Guayape. As the history of 
the early settlements in Central America is accurately described 
by the Spanish historians, the fact, if true, can be easily estab- 
lished. The Don gave me a detailed account of the expedition 
of his doughty ancestor into Olancho, the attacks and cattle- 
thefts by the savages, the discovery of the gold, and the rapid 
peopling of these beautiful valleys by the enraptured Spaniards, 
who at last made Olancho what it has since remained, the great 
cattle-raising section of Central America. 

Another hearty adieu, and I took my final leave of Jutecalpa, 
and from Lepaguare two days afterward, where the whole fam- 
ily rode out with me across the plain to Cerro Gordo, where we 
dismounted, and, in turn, embraced after the fashion of the coun- 
try. The party, excepting Don Toribio, then turned back, wav- 
ing their handkerchiefs until an intervening copse hid them from 
view. My companion gave me a particular charge for Teguci- 
galpa, and then, grasping mj hand for the last time, turned his 
horse toward the hacienda and spurred homeward. 

I confess to a feeling of downright home-sickness as I rose the 
hill and gazed back upon the lovely valley, stretching away like 
a sea, and glowing in the beauties of the fresh morning. The 
slant sunbeams mingled with the mists and spangled dews of 
the plain. Far away appeared a piece of the even more beauti- 
ful valley of Galeras, teeming with cattle, and green as an em- 
erald. Toward the hacienda I observed Don Toribio dashing 
along, and the herds of cattle and horses starting aside as the 
bold horseman scampered past. It was a scene peculiar to 
Olancho. I stood in precisely the same spot whence, some 
months before, after a weary scramble on mule-back among the 



GOOD-BY TO OLANCHO. 421 

mountains, we had come suddenly out upon this landscape of 
flowers, and blue and purple mountains. The same route was 
again to be traversed, but the prospect of the lonely journey was 
now divested of the charm of novelty, and I looked in fancy be- 
yond the shores of Central America, to where the stir and life 
of civilization invited with an enchantment more powerful than 
the soft climes and gorgeous scenery of the tropics. The Amer- 
ican, to fully appreciate his native land, must first learn, by bitter 
deprivation and contrast, its incomparable blessings. I turned 
away with such reflections toward the steep ascent, up which 
Roberto had already urged the mules, and, as I wheeled into 
the path, gazed my last upon Olancho. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Guaymaca. — La NiSia Alvina. — Talanga. — A night in tlie House of Don Gregorio 
Moncada. — Cofradilla. — DoiiaTomasa. — ^Tegucigalpa. — Hospitable Reception. 
— Silver. — The Minerales of Tegucigalpa. — A trip to Santa Lucia. — La Mina 
Grande. — Silver Mill. — The Road. — Descent into la Mina de San Martin. — 
Method of extracting the Ores. — ^La Mina de Gatal. — ^Want of Machinery and 
Knowledge. — Former Productiveness. — Present Yields. — Speculations on the 
Origin of Silver. — A Taladro. — A Campana. — ^Wandering Miners. — Ascent of 
el Monte de Santa Lucia. — Villa Nueva. — La Mina de PeiTa. — La Mina de 
Zopilote. — Primitive Smelting process. — Copper-hill of El Chimbo. — Captain 
Moore. — Legends of the Mines. — La Mina de Guayabillas. — Story of its Dis- 
covery. — The Arjenal Family. — English Enterprise. — "LaFatalidad del Pais." 
— Last Days of the Guayabilla Mine. — ^Departure for Home. — Amapala again. 
— The War. — "The Walker Contract."— Bay of Fonseca by Moonlight — At 
Sea in a Launch. — Realejo. — San Juan. — An American Steam-ship, — Home- 

The route through the mountains toward Campamento has 
already been described. Passing the night there, we resumed 
the journey at early dawn, and renewed our acquaintance with 
the Senora Hipolita and her pretty daughter at Guaymaca at 
evening. The latter disappeared a few minutes after my ar- 
rival, and shortly afterward returned with my present of a for- 
mer occasion made up into a becoming dress. There was as 
little to eat as ever in lonely Guaymaca, but the scriptural prov- 
erb was happily illustrated in this instance, for the Nina Alvina 
returned directly from an exploring expedition around the village, 
laden with a live fowl, some frijolitas and eggs. After supper 
the young woman deigned to cut up some excellent tobacco for 



422 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

my pipe, and in the morning a substantial breakfast was ready 
cooked, in readiness for the day's journey. 

From Guaymaca to Talanga is 3ijournada, or one day's jour- 
ney. We reached the town at sunset, and made directly for the 
adobe house of our former host, Don Gregorio. We found him 
in the midst of his game-cocks, of which he owned eight, each 
tied by the leg to a square block of wood, and some crowing de- 
fiance even at that late hour. 

The Don apologized for the non-appearance of the senora, who, 
he hinted with a consequential air, was soon to present him with 
an addition to the Moncada family. As night set in, the bells 
of the church announced the hour of oracion. The women in 
the house (there were five) fell to praying with such volubility 
that I imagined the important event could not be far away. 

At eight o'clock the candle was extinguished, and the family 
retired — to sleep ; but for me, to tumble on the bench which I 
had taken possession of for want of room to swing the ham- 
mock. To sleep here was impossible. A number of pigs had 
lain down outside the door, brought thither by the cold, and 
their continual wrangling for room or the inside place, accom- 
panied with a querulous squeaking, continued until after mid- 
night, when, wearied and irritated into a fever of rage, I opened 
the door and smashed a huge club among them, sending the 
party g-runting into the Plaza. The night was cold and cloudy, 
and the village silent as the grave. Closing the door, I essayed 
to sleep again, but the pigs, with several companions, shortly 
returned to their post. A young goat, confined in the kitchen, 
commenced to bleat at regular intervals for the rest of the night, 
while the frequent demands of Don Gregorio's progeny gave 
rise at times to interesting family debates, the whole conducted 
in the blackest darkness. 

Toward morning, the fatigue of the past day's ride across the 
treeless mountain-tops gained the ascendency over all other 
sentiments, and, despite the assaults of fleas, who swarmed in 
the hut, I had just fallen into a doze, when the game-cocks, who 
had been tied inside the house for safety, commenced their 
morning screams until daylight, when, feverish, exhausted, and 
half crazy, I crept into the street, and ordered Roberto to find 
the animals and get us out of San Diego de Talanga at once. 



ENTERTAINMENT AT COFRADILLA. 423 

Despite the fleas and the infernal din, Don Gregorio slum- 
bered calmly in his corner, and grumbled drowsily when the 
women invaded the house and drove him and his game-cocks 
into the street. Roberto was two hours finding the mules ; and 
when I had given him up, and resolved to buy one and proceed 
alone, he suddenly appeared with them from an unexpected quar- 
ter. In another half hour they were packed, and, mounting my 
own, I bid a hasty adieu to San Diego. 

I have since thought that the haste of our departure and the 
absence of the usual profuse compliments left Don Gregorio 
somewhat in doubt as to my gratitude and good breeding. Be 
that as it may, I thought another hour in Talanga (whose hor- 
rors I have feebly portrayed) would have made me a candidate 
for the insane asylum. May the increasing responsibilities of 
Don Gregorio Moncada live to prove a pride and honor to him! 
a result greatly to be doubted while then- father confines his oc- 
cupation to smoking paper cigars and cock-fighting. 

Ansious to conclude tlie journey, which had now become one 
of intense pain from a wounded foot, which prevented my wear- 
ing a boot, I left Roberto behind and pursued the path alone. 
The sun beat down mercilessly upon bare limestone mountains 
of such dazzling whiteness that the traveler must often keep a 
handkerchief over his face to preserve his eyesight. 

At dark, the huts of Cofradilla appeared unexpectedly m sight, 
where the pain obliged me to dismount at the first cabin. Good 
luck directed me to that of the principal person there, an old 
deaf woman, who had recently come here from Tegucigalpa. My 
request for lodgings was answered with a shake of the head 
and the words '■'•Soy sorda^ senor,^^ a.t the same time putting her 
hand to her ear. I raised my voice with no better success, when 
a young negress came to the door, and by signs intimated my 
desire. 

After several questions relative to my destination, and be- 
coming satisfied that I was not connected with the Revolution, 
permission was granted, though the old woman was suspicious 
of my dress and foreign accent, and, above all, of my not having 
a servant, without which no caballero travels in Honduras. Her 
fears vanished after my explanations, and, on displaying some 
copper money, she prepared a supper of dried meat and tortillas. 



424 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

On learning I was an American^ the old woman began to be- 
siege me for remedios for her deafness ; and not wishing to dis- 
appoint her, and at the same time believing in the harmlessness 
of my prescription, I recommended diurnal baths of hot water 
{of which I thoiight she decidedly stood in need), and lotions of 
aguardiente and salt to be applied to the feet ! I felt assured 
that, should her hearing return, she would attribute it to my pre- 
scription, and if not, that the most celebrated physicians are not 
always infallible. But Doiia Tomasa — thus she was named — 
need apply no remedies. Time, that grim destroyer of all our 
faculties, had laid his inexorable hand upon her. 

A cold norther, attended with rain, was blowing in the morn- 
ing at daylight. Roberto had not yet arrived. At Rio Aba- 
jo, however, he overtook me, and gave me a fearful account of 
losing his path, and falling down a declivity in the inky dark- 
ness of the night. The horse was so injured as to make it nec- 
essary to kill him, and his own bloody appearance proved his 
narrow escape. The remaining animals were turned out to 
graze, when, mounting fresh mules, we started for Tegucigalpa, 
where my old friend, Sefior Losano, welcomed me with his usual 
cordiality. 

My account of Olancho occupied the entire evening. The 
old Don scrutinized my contract, and, with true Spanish enthu- 
siasm, already looked forward to the renewal of the "good old 
colony times" as he remembered them when a boy. He de- 
voted the following day to circulating about the town the brill- 
iant future of Olancho under the auspices of los A-mericanos del 
jyorte, and before a week there were two parties in Tegucigalpa, 
one opposed to the entrance of Americans into Olancho, and the 
other loud in their expressions in favor of the future "regen- 
erators of the country." 

The invasion by the Guatemalans had drawn the government 
into the department of Gracias, where President Cabanas was 
preparing to attack the enemy. The signature of the Minister 
of Foreign Relations being necessary for the validity of my con- 
tract with the authorities in Olancho, the document was dis- 
patched to Llanos de Santa Rosa, where it was several weeks 
under executive consideration before the proper seals a.nd signa- 
tures could be affixed. 



THE SILVER REGION. 425 

During this time I made such excursions into the surround- 
ing country as my lameness would permit, to continue my ex- 
aminations of the silver mines in that department. In a follow- 
ing chapter I have thrown together such facts as I could collect 
relating to these mines, which, though incomplete, and present- 
ing but a superficial view of their value, may serve to show the' 
immense treasures stored in the hills of Honduras awaiting the 
labor and intelligence of foreign enterprise. 

The gold of modern discovery has Avidened the basis of our 
commerce, and, as an object of productive industry, has given 
birth to two new commercial centres which will divide between 
them the wealth of the Pacific. These events are more import- 
ant than revolutions. 

But if gold has thus established for itself a new dignity and 
power as a cause and instigator of progress, no less must the 
virtue of silver be speedily acknowledged, when its production, 
like the sister metal, shall fall, once for all, into the hands of 
Anglo-Saxon industry, and under the ken of its prophetic intel- 
ligence. 

Honduras, west of the Department of Olancho, is intersected 
with veins of silver, which in the last two centuries have pour- 
ed many millions of treasure into Europe, and have even com- 
peted with the richest of Peru and Mexico. Its secluded posi- 
tion, away from the routes of commerce, has, until recently, pre- 
vented its receiving the attention of capitalists, such as has 
given so powerful an impetus to the mines of other Spanish- 
American republics. In the Departments of Gracias, Coma- 
yagua, Choluteca, and Tegucigalpa, hundreds of silver veins are 
known, anyone of which, worked with scientific and economical 
apparatus, would certainly enrich those engaging in such enter- 
prises. My own observations were confined to the mines of 
the last-named department, where every facility was afforded me 
for inspecting them. 

Tegucigalpa contains within its boundaries ten '■'■ minerales,''' 
or mining districts, each of which has its group or cluster of 
important mines, most of them long since opened, and many in 
good working condition. In company with Sefior Jose Ferrari, 
I visited the mineral of Santa Lucia, near Tegucigalpa. A few 



426 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

hours' ride brought us to the summit of the Santa Lucia range 
of mountains, though to our right a green peak arose about a 
thousand feet above us. From our position we had a fine view 
of Santa Lucia, a small but prettily-built town, apparently em- 
bowered in trees, and adorned with a neat white church. Mil- 
pas and wheat-fields were pointed out on the slopes of these 
ranges, a^id the senor mentioned a grist-mill, worked by ox-pow- 
er, in one of the villages below. 

On the descent toward this valley we turned aside to exam- 
ine the Mina Grande, celebrated for the breadth of its veins. It 
is the joint property of Seiior Ferrari and the heirs of Francisco 
Losano. The principal vein is eleven varas (thirty-three feet) 
in thickness, and yields a good working percentage to the ton 
of ore. As yet, only four escaleras have been made, although 
the mine was formerly the property of the Kosas, a wealthy 
Spanish family. They had conducted the works but two years, 
when the independence of 1821 cut ofi'all political relations with 
Spain, when, for that and other causes, they abandoned the mine, 
as well as those of Gatal and San Martin, which were allowed 
to fall to ruin. The entrance to the principal vein is situated 
on a piece of pine-wooded table-land, near the summit of a 
mountain of limestone on the highway to Santa Lucia, more than 
4100 feet above the sea. 

As we arrived, two old Indians were pounding up the rich 
ore between two large stones ; but even by this rude and ineffi- 
cient process they earned a fair living, and a profit for the pro- 
prietors. The best-organized works employ simple machinery 
for pounding, which consists of two irregular mill-stones drag- 
ged around in a circular stone water-trough by mules or oxen 
pulling at a long beam which turns on a centre-post like an old- 
fashioned cider-mill. This is sometimes called a trwpiche, but 
oftener a rastrar, or drag. Those which I saw elsewhere moved 
stupidly around, crushing, it may be, half a ton a day very im- 
perfectly. The crushed ore is treated by fire or quicksilver, or 
both, according to the nature of the substance. A good crush- 
ing-machine of modern make, such as is used by quartz miners 
in California and Australia, would do more than twenty times 
the work of these rickety mills, and with nearly as little cost. 
A single mill would prepare ore enough in the Mina Grande to 



SANTA LUCIA. 427 

yield immense sums, if one may judge by the returns from the 
present ignorant methods pursued.* 

Tlie mayor-domo told me, with great Spanish pathos, that 
they lost half their silver by bad machinery and stupid manage- 
ment. As evidences of the extent of former workings and the 
careless methods pursued, I noticed many heaps of refuse ore 
and rock {resjpalde)^ some of which would be a fortune to a Yan- 
kee miner, with his crushers and his science. 

We descended from the Mina Grande, with a noble landscape 
before us, through a growth of shrubbery and pitch-pine. A sea 
of hills, forested to their crowns, lay around us. Arrived at the 
foot of this eminence, we began the ascent of another, near the 
summit of which stands the mining aldea of Santa Lucia. 

This village is deserted in winter by the scantily-clad natives, 
owing to the inclement weather, frequent hail-storms, it is said, 
then passing over it. During the summer it is a place of fre- 
quent resort from Tegucigalpa, for the healing qualities attribu- 
ted to the atmosphere, and the thousands of roses growing on 
the slopes of the mountain. 

Our tough little mules struggled up the steep road, and at 
eleven o'clock we had reached the highest point, 4320 feet above 
the sea. The temperature did not exceed 72° Fahrenheit at 
noon. We stopped at a small adobe belonging to Sefior Fial- 
les, and the servant, who was loaded with provisions, soon spread 
an excellent dinner, of which we gratefully partook after the 
toil of the morning. After dinner and a comfortable smoke we 
resumed our journey, traversing by a rough road a dense forest 
for several miles, and arrived at two o'clock before a small ham- 
let of adobe houses, the property of Senor Ferrari, one of which 
covered the entrance of the great San Martin Mine, said to be 
the richest in the district. 

* Since leaving Honduras, I have been informed that Dr. Charles Doratt, a 
gentleman of scientific knowledge in mining matters, has assumed the manage- 
ment of two mines near Tegucigalpa, which for some years previously had been 
worked to little advantage by the natives, and that, since the commencement of 
his superintendence, the mines have yielded a large amount of silver, all of which 
has been saved in the melting process by the superior knowledge of the foreign- 
er. These mines, which were formerly offered for sale, are now not to be pur- 
chased at any reasonable sum, though their intrinsic value has not increased. 
Hundreds of other mines await the magic influence of American and European 
intelligence to make them equally remunerative. 



428 



EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 



The largest adobe in the little group was designated by our 
conductor as a store-house, where the most valuable ore is col- 
lected until it can be carried to the mill, three miles distant. 
Another house served as the residence for the mayor-domo, and 
a third for workmen. The entrance to the mine is on the brow 
of the mountain, looking northeastward against a spur of the 
Cordilleras called the Lapaterique range, which divides the De- 
partment of Comayagua from that of Tegucigalpa. Some of its 
peaks are among the highest in the state. Through a gap or 
depression in this spur we saw the distant peak of Comayagua, 




COMB OF COMAYAGUA. 



near the city of that name, rising like a pyramid of indigo in the 
clear evening air. The foliage of the great valleys and hill- 
sides which environed us was diversified with varied tints, the 
brighter shades of oak and shrubbery contrasting with the ever- 
green darkness of the pines. 

We prepared for a descent into the Mina de San Martin by 
first taking each a " stiff horn" of aguardiente to guard against 
the subterranean cold. Then, with a naked Indian, bearing a 



DOWN IN A SILVER MINE. 429 

tallow candle, to precede us, and another, in similar costume, to 
bring up the rear, we began our descent into the "cellarage." 

Before entering the mine I noted down the miners' vocabulary, 
which includes a variety of technical expressions. The ore it- 
self, which they call hvsa, is a combination or mixture of crys- 
tallized minerals : limestone, quartz, sulphuret of lead, of anti- 
mony, of iron, and of copper, fiU up the irregular fissure, or 
break in the mass of the respalde or live rock. A vein of ore 
{veto) may lie between two vast beds of flat rock like a sheet 
between two blankets, and penetrating into the mountain ; or it 
may be simply the contents of a crack or fissure, descending 
into the lower regions of the earth to an incalculable depth. 

The metal {metal) sometimes discovers threads of pure silver, 
penetrating the crevices of the rock like the fibrous roots of a 
plant; but the quantity of this is never great, and the best 
mines are those that furnish a steady yield of rock-ore or hrosa. 
It is probable that the sulphurets of silver, antimony, copper, 
mercury, lead, and iron, which are found in these crevices, have 
risen up, either in the form of vapor or of lava (liquid rock), from 
volcanic furnaces in the deep chambers of the earth. 

We entered first what is called a, fronton, or horizontal cham- 
ber or drift ; but this terminated immediately over a perpendic- 
ular shaft or well, in mining language a ^ozo. Down this, pre- 
ceded by our guide, we commenced a slow and cautious back- 
ward climb, by means of an upright log of oak, with notches cut 
in it by way of steps for the feet and hands. These are denom- 
inated escaleras, and are usually four varas, or eleven and a 
quarter feet in length each. They are similar in every respect 
to the " Samson post" leading down the hatchway of a ship 
into the lower hold. 

At the foot of each escalera is a small platform of earth, just 
wide enough for a landing-place ; the drift is then horizontal for 
a few feet, and a second escalera commences. The descent into 
the silent gloom of one of these mines is by no means inviting. 
The reflection that others have gone before, and go every day 
without danger, is hardly sufficient to assure one. At the foot 
of the second escalera the darkness became impenetrable, and 
here was the commencement of a fronton, with galleries branch- 
ing out, their roofs supported on either side by walls of solid 



430 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

respalde, cut with great regularity, and the roof propped, in ad- 
dition, with pillars of heavy oaken timber, between which glit- 
tered bright reflections from the crystalline ore. The air of 
this cavern had the clammy dampness of a neglected dungeon. 
Half way down, a faint rumbling sound was heard, like the echo 
of footsteps in a hollow vault. This arose from the blows of 
the miners far below us. 

After a fatiguing descent, we found ourselves at the bottom of 
the mine, at a depth of 164 feet : the temperature at this point 
was 68° Fahrenheit. From the bottom of the lower escalera 
the vein had taken a more horizontal direction, and was exca- 
vated in caverns with arched roofs, which now re-echoed to the 
blows of the miners, who struck the rock with pointed bars of 
iron, breaking off portions of the ore, and emitting at every blow 
a peculiar hollow groan, very painful to hear for one unaccus- 
tomed to the sound, but which a tall Herculean fellow assured 
me was necessary to the harratero, or crowbar-man, and mate- 
rially eased his labor. 

The cold damp, the haggard expression communicated to all 
our faces by the candle-light reflected from the shining ores, the 
wild and unnatural look of these subterranean workmen, the 
dark openings leading away to unknown depths and distances 
into the solid heart of the earth, the idea that the mountain 
hanging overhead might at any moment fall in and exclude us 
from the light of day — an accident for which the miner has a 
word in his dialect, cdTrypana — quite satisfied me with this first 
exploration of a Honduras silver mine. 

One of the workmen drove his bar into a bank or shelf of 
ore, which, after some drilling and tugging, yielded like soft 
clay, falling out in pieces of from ten to thirty pounds weight. 
We pocketed as much as we dared ascend with. After climb- 
ing over yawning chasms, which seemed like wells of liquid 
night, we arrived, panting and perspiring, at the light of day. 

Each renewed the pull at the aguardiente bottle, which the 
old Don seemed to consider a panacea to be resorted to on all 
occasions. While we were resting, the mayor-domo, a civil, in- 
telligent fellow, gave me a clear account of the methods used in 
extracting the silver, which is elsewhere described. The speci- 
mens of ore firom the Santa Lucia and other mines in this de- 



METHOD OF WORKING THE MINES. 431 

partment, amounting to seven lots in all, averaged, when treated 
by American chemists, |72 to the ton; the lowest being $17 97, 
and the highest $218 58 cents per ton ; but the workmen of 
Senor Ferrari realize no approximation to such an amount. 

The mayor-domo complained bitterly of the lack of machin- 
ery and knowledge in working the mine, and the proprietor 
joined him, and offered a quarter of the entire proceeds if I would, 
of my own knowledge, or with the assistance of a good chemist, 
enable him to save his great losses in silver and quicksilver by 
the introduction of a good modern process. 

Nature has done every thing for Honduras ; man — at least in 
the present age — almost nothing. A silver mine in Connecti- 
cut or Delaware, yielding $20 of silver to the ton, would be a 
valuable property. The Germans work ores of argentiferous 
galena which yield only $5 or $10 to the ton, and even at these 
Jigures they are not unprofitable. Large investments of capi- 
tal are made in mines of an inferior quality in the United States, 
and roads constructed to reach them, which cost twice what 
would probably be required to control the access to Santa Lucia. 
It is our ignorance of Honduras which has thus far allowed us to 
leave it a hidden and useless treasure. Not many years can pass 
before this darkness will have been dissipated by the reports of 
explorers, and a new source of wealth be opened to the world. 

Although, under the Spanish rule, millions of treasure were 
taken from the mines of Honduras, we are not therefore to sup- 
pose that the methods of mining were in those days any better, 
or the arts of metallurgy more advanced. The secret of the 
great yield lay in the number of workmen employed in taking- 
out and crushing the ore. Machinery in extracting, and skill 
in amalgamating and refining, such as is now practiced in 
Germany, has from the first been entirely wanting. The profits 
of silver mining in Honduras under the Spanish colonial sys- 
tem is shown by a report of the Master of the Mint of Tegu- 
cigalpa, and published in 1828 by Henry Dunn, in his work 
on Guatemala, p. 223. This report purports to set forth the 
amount of silver and gold coined at the Mint for the fifteen 
years immediately preceding and fifteen years subsequent to 
1810. It denies that this is all the mines have produced in 
that time, but that great quantities had been exported, "so that. 



432 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

according to the calculation of intelligent persons, scarcely a 
tenth part of the metals obtained within the past six years will 
have passed through the Mint." The amount of silver coined 
for thirty years is given as 677,441 marks ; amount of gold 
coined, 1808 marks. Total value of gold and silver coined from 
1795 to 1825, $6,004,214. Mr. Dunn, however, does not credit 
the statement. The admirable system of the old Spaniards, in 
collecting and registering statistics of the productions and polit- 
ical affairs of the colonies, seems to have died out with the ces- 
sation of the Spanish rule, and a total want of reliable data now 
debars all attempts to obtain satisfactory information as to every 
branch of industry, but particularly that of mining. 

The method of raising the ore from the mines is by tanate- 
ros, a class of workmen whose lifelong labor tends wonderfully 
to develop their muscular system. These men are usually In- 
dians, and are beautiful in form, mild, industrious, and obedient. 
The same labor would be much more economically performed by 
a small steam-engine. More than two millions are affirmed to 
have been netted long previous to the Revolution from the San 
Martin mine! corresponding with more than thirty thousand 
tons of good ore, allowing the usual losses, from a mine less than 
170 feet in depth. This is only one of hundreds of statements 
of a like extraordinary kind made to strangers visiting the sil- 
k/i 'efTnines of Honduras. Mr. Squier describes the new mine of 
^ (^Jploal, in the Department ofOracias,as yielding "the somewhat 
> sitartling proportion of 23.63 per cent., or 8476 ounces per ton 
of 2000 lbs. !" A verbal description of the same mine given 
me in Tegucigalpa set down the yield of the Coloal mine as 
even greater than that. Such statements appear almost fabu- 
lous, but are actually realized in Honduras, if the assertions of 
hundreds of eyewitnesses are to be credited. 

From San Martin we rode the same day, not a mile distant, 
to the Gatal, another celebrated mine, also the property of Se- 
iior Ferrari. Straight yellow-pine-trees, from sixteen to eight- 
een inches in diameter, stood along the path. These appeared 
suitable for mine timber, but are not used when the roble or 
mountain oak can be easily obtained. Notwithstanding my for- 
mer resolution, I made a second descent into the earth at this 
point, and found the excavations of the Gatal much more exten- 



INTEEIOE OF A SILVEK MINE. 433 

sive and imposing than those of the comparatively modern San 
Martin. Galleries branch off to the right and left to a great 
distance, following the course of a second intersecting bed of 
ore, which traverses the larger or perpendicular vein. One of 
these, called the veta azul, or blue vein, is apparently conform- 
able with the stratification, like a bed of trap interposed between 
two layers of sandstone, while the other {veta jpvincijpal) is a per- 
pendicular opening. All the fissures of the mountains, and con- 
sequently the beds of ore in this mineral, run north and south 
except the veta azul. 

To explain the causes of these fissures, through which the 
precious metals have oozed up to the surface from the interior 
metallic lava lakes of the earth, may hereafter become the task 
of professional geologists. Did they arise in vapor, condensing 
upon the walls of the fissures ? Were they dissolved in water 
heated far beyond the temperature of white-heat iron, and pre- 
vented from evaporating by the pressure of solid miles of rock 
above them ? "Were the fissures made by ancient earthquakes, 
themselves occasioned by the bulging of the earth as it cooled ? 
Did the metals rise molten in the form of lava ? One thing is 
beyond dispute, however, that the causes, whatever they may 
have been, pervaded a wide extent of territory, and were deep- 
seated in the earth. Silver mines in this region seldom give 
out. Labor in them is discontinued for long periods for polit- 
ical and other reasons, but the veins, when followed, yield in 
proportion to the energy and means of the proprietor. They 
vary in width, but are indefinitely continued. Their supply is 
inexhaustible. 

While examining the interior of the Gatal, I observed more 
carefully the method of propping the roof of the excavation. 
Wherever the upper surface is shaky or of loose stone, heavy 
pieces of unhewn timber — oak is preferred — are set under as 
supports. These supports are not placed with the regularity 
nor precision of those of European mines, where this work, as is 
well known, is reduced to a science. Certain rules, however, 
as laid down in the '■'■ Ordinanzas de la Miner ia" and enforced 
under the crown throughout Spanish America, are yet observed 
rigidly in Honduras, and in these provisions are made for the 
height, width, and timbering of adits and galleries. 

Ee 



434 



EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 



The weight of the roof, pressing slowly and insensibly down- 
ward, will sometimes tend these columns like reeds. Frag- 
ments are continually dropping from the roofs of the galleries, 
but to these dangers the miners grow accustomed. As I was 
standing in one of the caves which are left by the excavations, 
I saw over my head a mass of several tons' weight hanging in 
the crevice, and ready at any moment to fall. Apparently the 
echo of the voice or the sound of a hammer might have brought 
it down. Gne of the miners touched me without speaking, and 
pointed up to the rock. I stepped quietly out of the way with 
a sensation like sea-sickness. 

A caTTvpana, or caving in, is not so dangerous an affair, how- 
ever, as might be imagin- 
/ ' ed. Before the roof comes 

down, more particularly 
when the strata above are 
horizontal, or moderately 
inclined, the mine gives 
out a sound, quivering and 
grumbling ; each timber- 
prop, set close to its fel- 
low, begins to sigh and 
struggle against the roof 
like a weary Hercules. 
The crash comes on slow- 
ly. A wind blows out of 
the mine ; the miners run 
to the main gallery, which 
is always secure, and a 
sound is heard for a few 
minutes, not loud, but aw- 
fully demonstrative of the 
forces at work. 

After the departure of the Eosas family in 1823, the Gatal 
was neglected, and the galleries fell to decay ; but recently they 
have been cleared, and are now worked with considerable results. 
The mouth of the mine is several hundred feet above the gen- 
eral table-land of the district. Far below, and entering the 
flank of the mountain, is a subterranean conduit, or water-drift, 




CAMPAi^A, OK CAVING IN. 



LA MINA DE GATAL. 435 

called by the miners a taladro. Out of this runs all the natu- 
ral drainage of the mine and the excess poured into it during the 
rainy season. The drain penetrates horizontally and upward to 
the galleries, by which it communicates hj pozos or wells sunk 
in the remote interior. This taladro is estimated to have cost 
the Rosas $30,000, when labor, under an arbitrary government, 
was far less expensive than at present. American miners would 
have incuiTcd a far greater outlay in drifting this tunnel, and 
without it the Gatal would be comparatively valueless, as the 
drainage would then be conducted by the only other method 
known to the old Spaniards, or those of the present day, that 
of carrying the water in hide tanates, or panniers, slowly and 
laboriously to the surface. There are but three mines in the 
mineral of Santa Lucia furnished with taladros, which, in the 
olden time, were the chief expense in silver mining, and, with a 
view to their construction, after a vein was discovered, they were 
opened on a height, if possible, to give an opportunity for sub- 
terranean drainage. Farther to the north, on the summit of the 
hill, is a lumbrera, or air-hole, which must have been equally 
expensive, as it penetrates to the lower galleries. 

As we rode over the country, many places were pointed out 
by my companions where silver veins had been traced ; and 
there is doubtless a net-work of silver penetrating all the mount- 
ains of this district. It will always be impossible to estimate 
the amount of silver contained in these hills, but it is not saying 
too much to affirm that the present waste and wear of silver in 
arts and commerce might be supplied from them. 

Having filled a sack with the ore of the Gatal, I mounted 
with the rest, and we turned our faces homeward. At the road 
side, and beneath the declivity where it had been emptied, I saw 
not less than a thousand tons of refuse ore, mixed with respal- 
de, too poor for transportation by mules to the mill. This will 
yield a remunerative return if subjected to proper machinery, 
and can be had for the asking. Senor Ferrari assured me he 
did not raise more than a ton of ore a day from the Gatal, em- 
ploying several workmen. This daily ton gives occasional em- 
ployment to his mill, and yields an average of twelve and a half 
marks, equal to one hundred ounces of silver. A tnark is worth 
nine dollars of good coined money in Tegucigalpa. There is 



436 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

scarcely a mine in Santa Lucia that does not average a mark to 
the quintal of one hundred pounds, even with the present rude 
method of working. 

The native miners who are out of employment haunt the old 
mines, and hy a rude smelting process in earthen pots obtain 
buttons of crude silver, worth intrinsically a little less than 
one dollar an ounce. These are every day brought into Tegu- 
cigalpa, and exchanged at the tiendas for the common necessa- 
ries of life, at a large discount. This is one source of the silver 
carried from Balize and San Miguel to London. The mayor- 
domo of Gatal told me that he estimated the ore of that mine 
and San Martin to average ten ounces of silver to the arroba 
(or 25 lbs.) of ore. This, however, I think an exaggeration, as 
it would constitute a yield to the ton which, though some few 
mines in Honduras have been known to exceed, neither the 
Santa Lucia nor any other known in that vicinity at present 
approach. 

After packing the specimens on to a mule brought for the 
purpose, and bidding adieu to the mayor-domo and his little 
flock of naked workmen, we started back toward Santa Lucia. 
About a mile distant to the southward, the two peaks of Santa 
Lucia towered above the neighboring ranges, and there being 
yet time for the jaunt, I proposed to Don Jose that we should 
make its ascent, and crown the day's adventures with a look 
from the summit. He laughed at the idea, and remarked that 
nobody but savages in the olden time had ever been up there ; 
but, with a little persuading, he agreed, and we turned toward 
the heights and urged our animals onward. 

The path or trail, which led us before through pitch and yel- 
low pine woods, soon became lost in a tangle of brush and shrub- 
bery, and here we sent a man forward to clear the way with 
a machete, and, leaving the other to watch the animals, set for- 
ward on foot. The old Don grumbled ominously at this unus- 
ual method of proceeding, but scrambling along, and at intervals 
appealing to a small bottle of the usual Central American stim- 
ulus, the party at last reached the plateau. 

It would be difficult to describe the superb scene which open- 
ed before us. At a height of not less than 5000 feet, and not 
much below the highest of the Lapaterique range, we stood and 



LA MINA DE PENA. 437 

enjoyed perhaps the most extensive prospect in Honduras. The 
view was bounded to the south and west by the Lapaterique 
range, forming the eastern side of the valley of Comayagua be- 
yond. Still farther on, the horizon appeared through a depres- 
sion in these mountains, that of Comayagua before referred to. 
To the east, from whence came a cool gale, was an apparently 
interminable labyrinth of mountains, losing themselves in the 
distance, and the whole seemingly carpeted with green. North- 
ward the eye still encountered hills and valleys like the waves 
of a troubled sea, but bathed in bright sunshine. Toward Olan- 
cho the cones of Guaymaca and Tiupacente were plainly visi- 
ble. Even Don Jose ceased complaining of his legs, and amused 
himself with vain efforts to distinguish his house from among 
the mass of buildings in Tegucigalpa, which lay with its white 
churches and green palms spread like a map thousands of feet 
below. 

The muttering of thunder warned us that a mountain storm 
was brewing in the nearest range, and we hastened to regain 
our mules. It was dark and raining when we regained the city, 
and with mutual good-nights each clattered over the pavements 
to his home. 

On another occasion I visited, with Senor Lardizabal, the min- 
eral of Villa Nueva, or New Town, about six miles from Tegu- 
cigalpa. The object of this journey was to view the Mina de 
Pena, or rocky mine, so called from the extreme hardness of 
the ore, which is a combination of sulphurets and a ferruginous 
substance, giving it the appearance of red sandstone. 

The proprietor has had possession of the mine for some years, 
and after the first expense, finding he lacked the means to con- 
tinue to work it, he simply performed enough annually to in- 
sure the right of ownership, and has since, like Mr. Micawber, 
been waiting for something " to turn up" in the shape of a specu- 
lative foreigner, with the means and will to prosecute the work. 

A streamlet, known as the Quebrada de Jacaliapa, flows 
into the larger river, and affords all the water requisite to sup- 
ply the works. A rude piece of machinery, designed to be car- 
ried by ox-pow^, stands near the entrance of the mine. Evi- 
dences of old workings on an extensive scale yet exist, which 
have been carried to the depth of forty feet by five or six esca- 



438 



EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 



leras. The vein runs from north to south, and has been open- 
ed from three directions, one well-huilt tunnel running for thir- 
ty yards under the hill, and serving the double purpose of tala- 
dro and camino. When Senor Lardizabal reopened and " de- 
nounced^ the Mina de Pena, it had remained partly filled with 




TALADKO, OB DBAIN. 



TANATERO— OKE-OAEBIKR. 



rubbish and stones for an unknown number of years, and work- 
men's implements were found far down in the excavations, as 
if left there by persons escaping in great haste out of the mine. 
The proprietor was anxious to form a contract with me, and 
finally did so, under the belief that los Americanos would make 
his fortune and their own in one year from the commencement 
of mining operations. The ore assayed in San Francisco at 
the rate of $32 75 to the ton, and the value of the mine rests 
more in the great size of the vein and the abundance of the ore 
than in its richness. 



GLEANING SILVER ORE. 



439 



Near this mine are two or three old deserted ones. That of 
la Zopilote is the resort of those in want of '■'■mont^'' money, 




e:ntkamcb to a mink. 



where they attack the old workings, and always succeed in pick- 
ing out from the stony walls enough to pay them tolerably well 
for their labor. These gleanings are generally done on Sundays. 
A group of Indians were at work here as we passed. It was a 
gloomy cavern in the side of a hill, overhung with aged trees. 
An old woman with a couple of naked children was boiling a 
pot over a fire of pine knots. The father of the family, with a 
bar of iron in his hands, stood at the entrance of the cavern, 
waiting until we should pass by, and near by I noticed several 
heaps of ore. 

Wishing to see this primitive metallurgist at work, I alighted, 
and remained a while in the shade, observing the process. A 
few copper dollars and a word or two of encouragement induced 
him to recommence for me. He entered the low drift, creeping 
on his hands and knees, and soon the muffled blows of the bar 
announced that he was at work upon a mass of ore by the twi- 
light of the mine. In half an hour or less he came out, drag- 



440 EXPLOEATIONS m HONDUEAS. 

ging behind him a sack of about twenty pounds of ore. The 
man and woman then selected each a flat stone, and gradually 
reduced the ore to a gravelly dust. The fire, meanwhile, was 
fed largely by the children. A smaller earthen pot, holding a 
portion of the hrosa, was set deep in a bed of coals. The wood 
was piled over it, sulphureous vapors escaped, and when the 
whole had burned fiercely a while and fallen to ashes, our son of 
Tubal Cain drew forth the pot, and turned out upon the ground 
a mass of gray, black, and red slag and ash, out of which I drew, 
with a stick, a button of hot silver weighing perhaps an ounce. 
This I purchased for little more than half its value in the mar- 
ket of Tegucigalpa. These wandering miners form a consider- 
able portion of the country population in the Tninerales, their 
occupation yielding them a meagre subsistence. With them is 
said to rest the knowledge of many rich veins in the recesses of 
the mountains, to which they resort in certain seasons, trans- 
mitting the secret through many generations. It is, however, 
only the best ores that can be treated in such a primitive fash- 
ion, and the loss is considerable. 

The riches of Tegucigalpa, however, are not confined to the 
precious metals. Lead in the form of sulphuret is almost too 
common to attract attention, more especially in the mineral of 
El Plomo, the ores of which are a mixture of lead and silver, the 
former in so large a proportion as to make them unprofitable by 
the native methods of working. 

The hill called " El Chimbo," a few leagues southwest of 
Tegucigalpa, is a curious mixture of copper dust with the soU. 
The surface must have been once a solid rock of copper pyrites 
(sulphuret), now decayed and converted into a blue rotten-stone. 
By turning up the sod, copper earthy in lumps like potters' clay, 
is revealed. From a quantity of this clay, which was crushed 
and panned after the method of gold- washing, there remained in 
the bottom dozens of glittering specks of pure copper. Thou- 
sands of tons of this may be easily obtained, and a perpetual 
stream flows near by to facilitate the working of it. 

A few weeks before leaving Tegucigalpa I was introduced to 
an old English naval officer. Captain Moore, who had once com- 
manded his frigate, but had now retired on half-pay, and for 
fourteen years has been engaged in working silver mines in Cen- 



CAPTAIN MOOEE. 441 

tral America. His bright blue eye and energetic gestures de- 
noted an activity and health hardly to be expected from his ad- 
vanced age and snow-white hair and beard. He had lately im- 
ported from England a costly steam-engine, purchased with the 
proceeds of his mining operations in the vicinity of Yuscaran, 
where he employed fifty men at a real (12^ cents) per day, and 
was at last realizing a rapid fortune. The natives, with whom 
he is generally popular, call him el Capitan Morey. He had 
expended, he said, two months of time in procuring the requi- 
site papers for landing his machinery, and, by some mistake, ran 
a narrow chance of its confiscation by the government. Cap- 
tain Moore spoke of Dunlop, author of " Travels in Central 
America," with whom he had several agreeable interviews in 
1846. Dunlop refers to him as the only stranger who had then 
attempted working the silver mines of Central America. Of 
some of the mines in Honduras the most wonderful stories are 
recounted, many of which would form the basis of legends sim- 
ilar to those relating to the famous Lake of Parima, "El Dora- 
do," or the search for the golden city. The most celebrated 
mines in the state, most of which have now fallen to decay, are 
those of Guayabilla, Malacate, Mairena, Coloal, Tabanco, Gatal, 
El Plomo, Opoteca, Cuyal, San Martin, Caridad, and El Corpus. 
Of the last mentioned, which was situated in the Department of 
Tegucigalpa, Juarros says, " El Corpus was the richest mine 
in the kingdom. It produced gold in so great a quantity as to 
excite a suspicion as to the reality of the metal, and a treasurer 
was established on the spot for the sole purpose of receiving the 
king's fifths." These twelve, which are brilliant examples of 
the mining wealth of the state, are each the subject of endless 
stories, to relate which would require a sizable volume. 

Of the old mining traditions, the least partaking of the fabu- 
lous is perhaps that relating to the celebrated Guayabilla, or 
Wild Guava, still asserted by the old people to have been the 
richest silver mine ever known in Central America. My old 
friend, Senor Losano, who loved nothing better than a comfort- 
able hammock and a good listener, often referred to this mine, 
and I heard his accounts corroborated by many others. 

The mine is situated within the mineral of Yuscaran, and was 
discovered in 1771 by a vaguero^ Juan Calvo, who, in clamber- 



442 EXPLOEATIONS m HONDtJEAS. 

ing up a rocky steep, dislocated a huge boulder, which, crashing 
down the mountain, plowed up the earth, and revealed to his 
wondering gaze filaments of silver, spreading among the inter- 
stices of the rocks like delicate fibrous roots. He had discern- 
ment enough to know that his discovery, if made public, would 
prove of little benefit to him, even though he denounced it ; and 
informing himself thoroughly of the method then pursued by 
the proprietors of silver mines, he smelted with an iron pot large 
sums of silver, with scarcely an attempt to follow the vein into 
the mountain. "But," said the narrator, "this sudden pros- 
perity was too much for Juan Calvo." Vanity getting the bet- 
ter of his prudence, he one day let fall at a fiesta certain words 
that excited the attention of his companions, who had long been 
jealous of his jaunty dress, lofty airs, and profusion of gam- 
bling-money. He was followed, and the secret discovered. It 
soon passed by purchase or otherwise into the hands of the rich 
Arjenal family, who at once commenced working it. That im- 
mense amounts of silver were extracted from the mine for many 
successive years, tradition and the rapid settlement of the coun- 
try in the vicinity immediately after its discovery testify ; but 
to credit that "$12,000,000 were taken out hi fifty years'^ xb 
hardly possible. Yet its subsequent history, and the vast sums 
known to have been extracted after it commenced to be worked 
a second time, would almost warrant the belief in any statement, 
however prodigious. 

It is asserted that the Arjenals, after the Independence, re- 
turned, with other loyal families, to Spain, and that their estates 
were confiscated, or allowed to fall to decay. The Central Amer- 
ican Revolution, however, was a bloodless one, and there was no 
reason for those families who remained loyal to the crown to 
fear violence from the people. It was not until 1838 that Mr. 
Bennett, an English capitalist, succeeded with his associates in 
getting partial possession of the Guayabilla mine. At that time 
the galleries and adits were mostly choked up with earth and 
rubbish, to remove which a large investment was necessary. 
The enterprise was conducted on a plan commensurate with the 
reported wealth of the mine. 

A company of Cornwall miners were brought from England, 
some of the descendants of whom are yet in Honduras ; scien- 



THE GUAYABILLA MINE. 443 

tific persons were engaged in the service of the association, and 
the mine reopened, after a year's unreniunerative labor, under 
the best native and foreign auspices in Honduras. It would be 
difficult to estimate, from that period, the extraordinary yield of 
the mine. About twenty persons are now living in Tegucigal- 
pa who owned small shares in the enterprise, and from them I 
heard accounts of the weekly dividends of its proceeds. The 
ore, said to be the richest ever known in Honduras, was found 
coated with virgin silver as when discovered more than half a 
century before. The smelting was done in immense ovens con- 
structed near the works. The government, partially interested 
in the enterprise, favored the operations. The associates, both 
native and foreign, became rich. Accounts of the "good old 
Guayabilla days" are yet circulated in Honduras, and the ancient 
reputation of the mine, which had been regarded as fabulous, 
was re-established. Large amounts of silver are said to have 
been shipped via Balize to England, where the fame of the mine 
soon became known. The workmen are represented to have 
been paid off in long lines, the operation occupying from noon 
until dark every Saturday. Here was a forcible illustration 
of the value of foreign capital, labor, and skill in Honduras. 
"But," continued my informant, '''■ihefatalidad del ;pais could 
not brook such an anomaly in the history of Honduras. Fer- 
rera, the murderous instrument of the aristocratic faction, was 
elected by fraud to the presidency ; property was confiscated ; 
rich men murdered or driven away ; all respectable and honest 
people banished ; all affairs reversed and ruined." 

A gentleman of Guatemala, a large owner in the Guayabilla, 
dying, the property went into the hands of his brother, a cun- 
ning lawyer of the lowest character in the party of Ferrera. 
Hitherto the Guayabilla had been comparatively exempt from 
the outrages of the Servile faction : this was owing to the influ- 
ence of foreigners, especially Englishmen, and some members of 
the Servile party who were interested in the property. The 
lawyer of Guatemala, Don Felipe Jaureyui, defrauded the heirs 
of his brother ; and knowing that, at the close of Ferrera's ad- 
ministration, he would be compelled to restore the property, he 
resolved meanwhile to make the best of it. 

One of the sections of the Ordinanzas de la Mineria pro- 



444 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

hibits the removal of those natural columns of rock and ore 
which support the roof and arches of a mine. In the Guayabilla 
mine they were found as left by the old proprietors — of solid ore 
and of immense value. A bribe from the rich Jaureyui induced 
Ferrera and a majority in the Camaras to repeal this time-hon- 
ored ordinance. Others of the owners, won over by the spe- 
cious arguments of the wily lawyer, agreed ; the pillars were 
taken down, and in four months are said to have yielded half a 
million in pure silver, but the next rainy season the roofs fell 
in and the mine was ruined. The long galleries became choked 
with stones, timber, and mud ; the machinery went to wreck ; 
and the foreign proprietors, after expostulating in vain with 
Ferrera, abandoned the enterprise in despair. Ten thousand 
dollars would be required to reopen the Guayabilla from a new 
point, but there are many who assert that the speculation would 
prove a good one, as the mine was yielding largely when de- 
stroyed by the rapacious Jaureyui. 

The arrival of the long-expected documents, with flattering 
letters from President Cabanas and Seiior Cacho, enabled me 
to complete my preparations. After a formal " adios''' to ray 
friends, who had ridden out of the city with me to the foot of 
the Lapaterique range, I took the path or camino real leading 
over the mountains to the Pacific, and, with the usual delays 
and peculiar adventures of Central American travel, arrived at 
Choluteca. From here, after a detention of four days, and bid- 
ding adieu to my faithful Eoberto, who begged hard to go with 
me to el Iforte, I reached Amapala, and renewed a cordial inti- 
macy with my hospitable friend, Seiior Dardano. 

Here the rumor of Walker's contemplated enlistment with a 
few followers in the Castellon cause had created some anxiety. 
Mr. Byron Cole, my companion from San Francisco to Leon, 
arrived on the following day, and the adventures of both were 
quickly exchanged. Neither had heard from the other since 
parting at Leon the previous year. All letters miscarrying, 
and the lazy life of Nicaragua not suiting my energetic friend, 
he had enlisted his sympathies with the Democratic cause, had 
gone back to San Francisco with his own written contracts, 
signed and sealed by the government, engaging the co-opera- 
tion of the second Miranda, and, returning to Nicaragua, was 



POLITICAL MATTERS. 445 

now calmly awaiting the firing of the train he had so skillfully 
laid. 

Meanwhile Chamorro, closely besieged in Granada, still held 
out against the Castellon forces, while the people, wearied with 
the protracted war, were ready to side with either party most 
likely to terminate it. Masaya, Managua, and Rivas, with all 
Southern Nicaragua, had been retaken by the Legitimistos, or 
adherents of Chamorro. Honduras, assailed by Guatemala, had 
withdrawn her troops from Nicaragua to protect her eastern 
frontier. San Salvador and Costa Eica were acting temporari- 
ly the part of pacificators ; and Guatemala, friendly to the Cha- 
morro cause, but occupied with her usual invasion of Honduras, 
contented herself with keeping spies in Leon, and affording all 
possible secret aid to the Serviles. Such was the political as- 
pect of Central America in the summer of 1855. 

The only communication between the Bay of Fonseca and 
the south coast was by a few antiquated launches, dignified 
with the name of schooners, and offering perhaps a semi-month- 
ly chance to go by sea from port to port. An open boat, with 
one sorry, threadbare sail, was at last announced for San Juan 
del Sur, for a passage in which the proprietor asked the moder- 
ate sum of $50, payable in advance. We set sail at sundown, 
took the young flood, and swept swiftly out of the noble har- 
bor, past Mianguera and the great headlands of Conchagua and 
Consiguina, standing like the Pillars of Hercules to guard the 
entrance to the finest harbor on the North Pacific coast. A 
bright moon illumined the distant peaks, and tipped with silver 
the surf breaking over the lonely Farrallones. The land-breeze 
bore us swiftly away to the southward, and at daylight only the 
higher volcanic peaks were in sight. El Tigre, up whose steep 
ascent we had lately scrambled to the very apex — a plateau of 
lava and mould crowned with luxuriant grass— now loomed 
dim in the horizon. Three thousand feet above the ocean it 
towers, and from seaward affords an unfailing landmark to the 
mariner. 

For three days we beat against a strong southwest wind, when 
the ancient craft commenced to leak at such a rate that the pa- 
tron (a bongo sailor, who now made his first trip to sea) clap- 
ped his helm up and made for Realejo, where two days more 



446 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

were expended in repairing. Here my crew gravely informed 
me that the boat was unseaworthy, and the voyage consequent-, 
ly at an end. A dispute ensued, which was finally carried be- 
fore the commandante of the port, who first ascertained my pol- 
itics, which were, of course, strongly Castellon. This declara- 
tion, backed by a quarter doubloon, decided the case in my fa- 
vor, and Pedro was forced to refund three fourths of the passage- 
money. 

Another launch was engaged, and at night, in the good launch 
" Live Yankee," Captain " Sam," the voyage was continued. 
Two days more we beat along the Nicaraguan coast, losing on 
one tack all we gained on the other, until a favorable breeze 
gave us a slant into the roadstead of San Juan del Sur. As we 
rounded a headland, the inspiring spectacle appeared of an ocean 
steam-ship (the Uncle Sam), wearing the American flag, riding at 
her anchors, ready fired up, and receiving the last of her New 
York passengers before weighing anchor for San Francisco. I 
question if I ever gazed on the red, white, and blue with greater 
satisfaction. 

In another hour I was comfortably located on board, with the 
courteous Captain Blethen " bringing up the news." My latest 
New York paper was five months old. Those in the steamer 
were but fourteen days. Soon the ponderous machinery be- 
gan to move, and, with a parting signal-gun, we sped bravely 
away. 

Once among old friends, it was with genuine regret that I re- 
called the images of a strange and decadent people, and a coun- 
try of rare and yet unknown beauties. The delicate tracery of 
the laines and parasites, the brilliancy and variety of the land- 
scapes, the bracing air of the upland plateaus, the skies of im- 
maculate blue, and the imperial sunsets, all came dreamily back 
as we steamed past purpling mountains and dark belts of for- 
est. Wild or ludicrous adventures, tender fancies, luxurious 
laziness, and drowsy speculations through inductive courses of 
siestas, 'cigarros, and fragrant chocolate, were fast fading into 
visions of the past as we plowed boldly toward the more vigor- 
ous and progressive North. 

The activity displayed in every department on board an ocean 
steam-ship can at no time be better appreciated than on thus 



HOME! 447 

suddenly quitting a Spanish- American country, wliere to think, 
talk, or move fast is an exception to the rule of hopeless leth- 
argy and laziness. There is something inspiriting in the hurry 
of the waiters, and the brisk routine of hourly duty. To stejj 
from Central America into an American steamer was like awak- 
ing firom a long dream. Here all was life — action. Men quar- 
reled with energy, and laughed aloud. There seemed more in- 
telligence within speaking distance than in the whole snail-paced 
race I had lately moved among. 

In less time than I had taken to hunt up mules in Nacaome 
for a thirty-league ride, we had plowed through sixteeu hundred 
miles of ocean, and were now entering the noble harbor of San 
Francisco — past Point Lobos, through the Golden Gate, and 
safely moored at the wharf. It was Home ! 



y 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 449 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CENTEAL AMERICA. 1502-1821. 

Abongiaal Inhabitants of Honduras. — Columbus first lands on the American 
Continent. — Early Settlement of the Coast. — Exploration and Settlement of 
the Interior. — Cortez at Truxillo. — Expeditions into Olancho. — Subjugation 
of the Indians. — Missionarj' Expeditions into Olancho and Segovia. — Estab- 
lishment of Spanish Sovereignty. — The Colonial System of Spain. — Causes of 
the Central American Revolution. — Declaration of Independence. 

The early histoiy of few portions of Spanish America carries 
a deeper interest, or is more shrouded in oblivion, than that of 
the region extending from Tehuantepec to Panama, including 
the whole of the old kingdom of Guatemala, and now known as 
Central America. Its conquest, though emblazoned with ad- 
ventures as notable as those marking the fall of Montezuma and 
the Incas, has yet to be placed in minute detail in the pages of 
modern historians. 

A century before the advent of the Pilgrim fathers upon the 
bleak shores of New England, an adventurous people had over- 
run a vast portion of the New World, penetrating its forests, 
subjugating its inhabitants, and sending to Europe galleon-loads 
of treasure as earnests of its boundless wealth. The motive of 
one race was the purchase at any price of religious freedom ; of 
the other, the acquisition of territory and the lust of gold. One, 
stripped of their former splendor and power, have fallen to de- 
cay ; the other, with rapid but healthful growth, already spans 
the continent, and, limited by the Pacific, gazes impatiently to- 
ward the plains of the tropical south. Retributive justice has 
overtaken the race who, in the pursuit of gold, perpetrated enor- 
mities of cruelty unparalleled in history. Their heritage is in 
turn passing away, the natural prey of more progressive and en- 
ergetic competitors. 

The accounts of the Spanish chroniclers, as well as numerous 
interesting aboriginal ruins, denote Honduras to have been in- 
habited at the date of the discovery by a people not lacking in 

Ff 



450 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

the arts of civilization, and in numbers which entitled the coun- 
try to rank among the most populous of the New World. The 
histories of Bernal Diaz, Las Casas, Herrera, Fuentes, Yasquez, 
and, more recently, of Juarros, the historian of Guatemala, throw 
ample light upon the achievement of the conquerors. From 
these sources it appears that the aborigines possessed the cour- 
age and skill to wage a determined war against their invaders, 
which, though of short duration, lasted until the superior arms 
and skill of the Spaniards brought them gradually to subjection. 

Honduras claims the distinction of having been the first place 
of debarkation of Columbus on the American continent. Here, 
on his fourth voyage, he landed at Point Casinas, on the 14th 
of August, 1502. He had previously discovered the island of 
Guanaja (now Bonaca, one of the " Bay Islands"), where Barto- 
lome Columbus had landed with a party of Spaniards. Pursu- 
ing his voyage to the eastward from Point Casinas (now Cape 
Honduras), Columbus made a headland stretching into the sea, 
where, for some time, he contended with currents and adverse 
winds, until, rounding the point, the sailors thanked God, whence 
it derived its appellation of" Gracias aDios.'''' 

At Guanaja the admiral was visited by a number of the in- 
habitants of the continent. They came in a canoe of great 
length and eight feet wide, ingeniously constructed, and appear- 
ed to be a people much farther advanced in the civilized arts 
than any he had yet discovered. Some wore massive ornaments 
of gold, and replied to the eager inquiries of the Spaniards by 
pointing to the main land, where they said it was found in such 
quantities as to be used for the commonest purposes. Farther 
to the southward, the natives wore plates of gold as ornaments. 
The main land, however, was not settled until 1509, when Alon- 
zo de Ojeda, on his third voyage, and Diego de Nicuessa, under 
the encouragement of Ferdinand, formed two settlements, one of 
which, extending from Darien to Cape Gracias a Dios, was placed 
under the government of Nicuessa. 

In 1523 Cristoval de Oli, having been commissioned by Cor- 
tez, landed in Honduras at a point not far from Omoa, which he 
called the Bay of the " Triumph of the Cross." He was pre- 
ceded, however, by Gil Gonzales de Avila, the discoverer of the 
Bay of Fonseca, who had previously effected a landing on the 



HISTOEICAL SltETCII. 451 

Gulf of Dulce, having been unable, owing to the bad weather, 
to enter Puerto Caballos, near which he was obliged to throw 
overboard some horses — whence the name. Juarros states from 
Herrera that the coast had at once the names of "Las Hibue- 
ras," from the great number of calabashes seen floating in the 
vicinity; "Guaimura," from a village so called; and "Hondura" 
(depth), a name given by the Spaniards, who were prevented for 
some time from landing, owing to the great depth of water along 
the coast. 

Oli having revolted from the authority of Cortez, that com- 
mander sent Francisco de Las Casas from Mexico against him, 
with two ships well armed. A naval engagement took place in 
the bay between the fleets of the two captains, which resulted in 
the defeat of Oli, one of whose vessels was sunk ; but a gale 
arising at the moment of victory, the vessels of Las Casas found- 
ered ; forty of his men were drowned, and the rest saved them- 
selves by swimming to the shore. The survivors requited Oli's 
kind treatment by treacherously murdering him the first oppor- 
tunity. These events left Las Casas in possession of the coun- 
try. In the following year (1524) he founded the city of 
TruxiUo. 

Although Gonzales, in 1522, had discovered the Pacific coast 
of Honduras, on his expedition in search of a passage from the 
South Sea to the Atlantic, he does not appear to have penetrated 
into the interior. The earliest settlement recorded is that of 
San Jorge de Olanchito, by Diego de Alvarado, sent by his 
brother Pedro, in 1530, to colonize the province of Tecultran, 
or Eastern Honduras. This town, however, as is denoted by 
its name, was founded subsequent to many excursions made 
into the interior of Olancho by the Spaniards during Cortez's res- 
idence at TruxiUo in 1526. Bernal Diaz relates that, after the 
conquest of the Lidians residing near TruxiUo, the name of 
Cortez was so feared and respected among all the inhabitants of 
this country " that even the distant tribes of Olancho, where 
subsequently so many lucrative mines were discovered, sent em- 
bassadors to him to declare themselves vassals of our emperor.'" 
But the interior of Olancho had been visited even before this 
date by Captain Gabriel Rojas, who was sent by Pedro Arias 
to explore the gold mines of the country. The same adventurer 



452 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

effected a settlement at Cape Gracias a Dios in 1530, which was 
soon after abandoned. 

Cortez, meantime, obtaining no tidings from Las Casas, had 
performed his celebrated march from Chiapas through the un- 
known wilderness of Guatemala to Honduras, an achievement 
unparalleled in martial history for the sufferings, difficulties, and 
privations successfully encountered by its projector. On his 
arrival he directed important changes in the settlements, and 
founded the town of Natividad at Puerto Caballos. 

During the stay of Cortez at Truxillo, frequent communica- 
tion was doubtless had between the port and the interior. The 
powerful tribes in the vicinity were reduced, and their chiefs 
brought to Truxillo and made to understand the power of Spain. 
Some, residing in what is now known as Yoro, were employed 
in laborious work in the town, and the caciques required to ne- 
gotiate with the adjacent islanders for provisions for their con- 
querors. A number of Indians, says Bernal Diaz, had jour- 
neyed all the way to Truxillo, bearing complaints to Cortez of 
the Spaniards of Nicaragua, who had committed depredations on 
their country, plundering them, and carrying away their wives 
and daughters. Gonzales de Sandoval was dispatched with 
only sixty men into the interior, where Rojas was saved from 
punishment by the mediation of several cavaliers, who restored 
friendship between the two commanders. The historian states 
that Sandoval penetrated six hundred miles into the country, 
the impossibility of which is shown by the fact that much less 
than that distance would more than have sufficed to carry him 
quite across the continent. 

Herrera devotes part of his fourth book to a description of 
the religion and customs of the natives inhabiting the present 
departments of Yoro and Olancho. That the country was pop- 
ulous is shown by his reference to the River Haguaro (Aguan?), 
a large and pleasant stream running toward Truxillo, on the 
banks of which were large towns, whose people irrigated much 
land. 

About the time of Cortez's final departure from Truxillo in 
1526, expeditions from Naco, near Puerto Caballos, had been 
made into Olancho. " We had already fought our way," says 
Bernal Diaz, " through hostile tribes up to Olancho, which at 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 453 

present is called Guayape, abounding in lucrative gold mines.'" 
The continued diseoverj- of gold mines in Olancho and Yoro (the 
latter then known as Santa Cruz del Oro — the Holy Cross of 
Gold) brought a numerous population into that part of Hon- 
duras, many of whom, charmed with its climate and picturesque 
scenery, renounced the occupation of miners, and, commencing 
with small stocks imported from Spain, gave the first impulse 
to the subsequent pastoral employment of the people. The 
leading branch of industry, however, for many years, was gold 
mining, vigorously pursued with the rude methods then in vogue. 
An English writer in 1661, describing the province of Hondu- 
ras, says, " Twenty-seven leagues from this city (Truxillo) lies 
the village of San Jorje de Olancho, where four thousand Span- 
iards force tribute from sixteen thousand Indians, who possess 
much gold." 

From the arrival of Pedro de Alvarado with the royal com- 
mission of Governor and Captain General of Guatemala, the 
subjugation of the natives was continued with the most inhu- 
man cruelties. The local commanders, exercising unlimited 
control over the Indians, stopped at no barbarities in extorting 
from them the supposed hiding-places of their gold. A stub- 
born resistance was made in Honduras, but particularly in Gua- 
temala proper, where the aborigines were led to battle in vast 
hosts, but only to be slaughtered in heaps by their dauntless, 
mail-cased enemies. 

Montejo, who had been appointed Governor of Honduras by 
the King of Spain in 1536, on his arrival from Mexico dispatch- 
ed Alonzo de Carceres, one of his officers, against the Cacique 
Lempira (lord of the mountain). This chieftain had collected 
an army of thirty thousand men, whom he animated with stir- 
ring appeals and assurances of victory. He fortified a rock at 
Cerquin, near the present city of Comayagua, and for six months 
bid defiance to the Spaniards, who were obliged to winter in the 
field with great suffering. Lempira haughtily rejected all offers 
of peace, and put to death the messengers of Carceres, declaring 
that he would own no superior, nor admit of any innovations in 
the customs and religion of the country. He was of middle 
stature, broad-shouldered, brave, and prudent. His influence 
over the Indians was so great that he was said by them to be 



454 EXPLORATIONS m HONDUEAS. 

enchanted, and fabulous accounts of his personal prowess were 
current among all the tribes, where he was held in extreme awe 
and respect. He was at length treacherously shot bj order of 
Carceres, during a parley, in which he stood exposed upon the 
ramparts of his fort. His body was found incased in the pecul- 
iar cotton armor used by the Spaniards in the Indian wars. 
After his death the natives surrendered to the authority of the 
conquerors. 

The Cacique Tapica was another brave and powerful chief- 
tain, exercising great influence over the tribes of the interior, 
whom he urged to effect a general union against the invaders, 
but unsuccessfully. The Spaniards found the natives divided 
against themselves, and thus falling the surer and easier prey to 
their enemies. 

Forty thousand men would assemble to fight a battle, some 
of them armed with bows and arrows, pointed with sharp flints. 
Their shields were constructed of reeds, artificially woven to- 
gether, and covered with the skins of lions, tigers, deer, and 
other wild animals ; the martial ornaments of the skins of 
birds and beasts. Their swords were made of poisonous hard 
wood.* 

The historian Juarros, who refers to the conquest of these 
aboriginal tribes, is silent regarding the multitudes barbarously 
put to death during the work of subjugation. Bartolome de Las 
Casas, who visited Guatemala in 1536, was unwearied in his 
attempts to convert the natives to the Christian faith, and suc- 
ceeded by gentleness in subduing tribes who had defied the 
most chivalrous exploits of the soldiers. He did not confine 
his humane efibrts to Guatemala, but interested himself in be- 
half of Honduras. 

In his letter to Charles V. he gives us some insight into the 
enormities practiced by the Spaniards, and the vast population 
in the days of the conquerors ; but, in the latter respect, allow- 
ance should be made for the zealous exaggeration of the good 
bishop. Of the conquerors he says, " They murdered young 
children, beating out their brains against stones. The kings 
and princes of the country they either scorched to death or 
threw them to the dogs to be torn to pieces. The poor people 
* Herrera, book iv., chap. i. ; book vi., chap. iv. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 455 

they drove into their Iioiises, and then set them on fire. Those 
tliat remained were condemned to the worst slavery imaginable, 
being used instead of mules and horses, forced to carry burdens 
far beyond their strength, and thousands fell dead under their 
loads. Some ran into the woods, and starved after having eaten 
their wives and children. In this province alone they massa- 
cred above twenty hundred thousand men, among others per- 
sons of quality who had civilly entertained them. They tor- 
tured the poor innocent natives in every way they could invent 
to force them to discover their gold. Particularly Diego de Ve- 
lasco spared none that ever fell into his hands ; so that, in a 
month's time, above ten thousand were slain by him. He hang- 
ed thirteen chiefs, to whom he gave the name of the twelve apos- 
tles, naming the principal one Jesus Christ. Some they suffer- 
ed to starve to death, with their heads fastened between the 
cloven barks of wild vines ; some they buried alive, and, leav- 
ing only their heads above ground, bowled iron shot at them, 
and forced them to eat one another, and infinite other hellish 
cruelties too horrible to be recounted." 

The tyrannical rule of Governor Cerceda in 1536 was such 
that the Indians, upon whose agricultural labors the colonists 
had mainly depended, fled into the mountains, leaving the set- 
tlers in the greatest distress. The arrival of Alvarado termi- 
nated these troubles. The Indians were pacified, and the guilty 
governor was held answerable for his conduct. While here, 
Alvarado founded the towns of San Juan and San Pedro Zula. 
In the same year efforts were made to explore and settle the in- 
terior. By the death of the Cacique Lempira quiet was re- 
stored, and Alonzo de Caceres was commissioned to discover an 
eligible situation for a town midway between the two oceans. 
He selected the site of the present city of Comayagua. It was 
intended, says Juarros, by means of this place to obtain an easy 
communication with the Atlantic and Pacific ; its situation, be- 
ing about half way between Puerto Caballos and the Bay of 
Fonseca, would render it a convenient intermediate depot. The 
climate being healthy, and the soil fertile, much of the sickness 
and waste of human life would be prevented, and many of the 
fatigues and privations avoided usually experienced in the jour- 
ney from Ifomhre de Dios (Chagres) to Panama. The King of 



456 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

Spain commissioned an Italian engineer, Bautista Antonelli, to 
survey this proposed route, which, three hundred years later, has 
been selected by Anglo-Saxons for the line of an inter-oceanic 
rail-road communication.* The historian states 1542 as the year 
in which Gomayagua (then called Nueva Valladolid) was found- 
ed. It soon became the capital of the province, a position it 
has since continued to hold. 

The settlement of Honduras appears to have been prosecuted 
earnestly by the Spaniards during the greater part of this cen- 
tury. Many of the most advantageously situated Indian vil- 
lages grew into brisk trading towns. The natives gradually 
fell into a state of vassalage or servitude, more wretched, if pos- 
sible, than professed slavery. It can not be denied that the 
laws of the Indies were conceived and intended to be adminis- 
tered in justice and wisdom, especially those regulating the gov- 
ernment of the Indians ; but these, though framed in the spirit 
of humanity, were craftily evaded by the Spaniards, who, op- 
pressed as colonists by the mother country, in their turn abused 
and harassed the unresisting natives. Negro slavery was in- 
troduced only when the system of refined cruelty had nearly ex- 
tinguished the Indian race. 

The city of Truxillo, as the outlet of the produce of Olancho 
and Yoro, became, after some years, a centre of commerce. In 
1539 its church was declared a cathedral by Pope Pius III., 
which title it continued to hold for above twenty years, until re- 
moved to Gomayagua. A fort mounting seventeen guns was 
built in the same year. The place was frequently attacked, 
and once, in 1643, entirely destroyed by the Dutch pirate John 
Van Home. Among the valuable articles obtained as booty in 
the English and Dutch marauding expeditions against Hondu- 
ras are enumerated silver, skins, indigo, and sarsaparilla. In 
1661, the English geographer Ogilby, describing Truxillo, says, 
"The country round about abounds chiefly in grapes, which 
are gathered twice a year. Eight days after August they cut 
their vines, which afford them ripe grapes again in October.'* 
In 1789 the town was rebuilt by royal edict, and in 1797 re- 
pulsed an English fleet which attacked it. Juarros represents 
it in 1811 as having but four hundred inhabitants, of whom 
* Proposed Honduras Inter-oceanic Rail-road. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 457 

three quarters were blacks. At present it is an obscure, unfre- 
quented port. San Fernando de Omoa, with its castle, was 
built in consequence of a royal decree, dated in 1740. The 
works were twenty-three years in process of construction. The 
present limited trade of these ports is elsewhere described. 

The missionary expeditions sent early in the 17th century 
into the interior of Olancho and Segovia by the way of Coma- 
yagua, though conceived and executed with laudable intentions, 
possess little interest beyond exhibiting the condition of the na- 
tive tribes of that date and the indomitable zeal of the Catholic 
ministers. As early as 1547 information had been sent to Spain 
concerning the tribes of Eastern Honduras, then known in con- 
nection with the adjoining region of Nicaragua as Taguzgalpa 
and Tologalpa. In 1594, Philip II. commanded that a minute 
statement be made of the tribes inhabiting the northern coasts 
and transmitted to the court. About the same time two friars 
endeavored unsuccessfally to penetrate into the interior of these 
provinces. The first successful attempt to carry the Christian 
faith among the "infidel Indians" appears to have been made 
in 1606 by the padres Estevan Verdelete and Juan Montea- 
gudo, who left Comayagua with the design of reaching the pow- 
erful tribes of the Xicaques by the river of New Segovia, or 
Wanks. They were deserted by their Indian guides in a path- 
less wilderness, and after incredible perils, marking their way 
by means of the stars through wilds and over precipices, they 
escaped and arrived safely at Comayagua. 

Three years afterward the two padres repeated the attempt. 
In 1609 they formed a company of thirty-four, among whom 
were the curate of Olancho, Captain Daza, and three other na- 
tives of Olancho. They„ entered the mountain district by the 
River Guayape, and after crossing many rivers by rafts and ca- 
noes, they came in sight of the huts of the natives. They prob- 
ably struck the Guayape at the foot of the Campamento Mount- 
ains, and, traveling eastward toward Tiupacente, passed the Ja- 
lan, Guayambre, and other rivers in that region. 

The Indians were doubtless portions of the Toacas tribe, 
mentioned by Juarros as inhabiting that part of the country. 
They advanced to meet the strangers, greeting them with dances 
and flowers. The appearance of some, who were painted black 



458 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

and wore plumes of feathers on their heads, caused the padres 
to doubt their peaceable disposition. A large cross was erect- 
ed, and so many natives baptized that Verdelete sent back an 
account of his success to Guatemala. But the Lencas and 
Mexicans, living together, quarreled, and, seduced by those who 
had refused to be converted, they, with the Teguacas, decamped 
into the mountains, after which the savages, with blackened faces 
and horrid yells, and armed with torches and lances, set fire to 
the hut which had been erected as a church. Verdelete, cruci- 
fix in hand, expostulated and exhorted in vain ; and, finding the 
dwelling-places utterly deserted, the party returned to Guate- 
mala. 

In 1610 the missionaries again essayed the conversion of the 
Xicaques. The party was escorted by Captain Alonzo Daza, 
with twenty-five soldiers. Verdelete preached a farewell ser- 
mon at Guatemala, in which he prophesied to his hearers that 
they were listening to him for the last time. The company 
reached the confines of Tologalpa in 1611. 

On their arrival the party was attacked by the natives, and 
some of the soldiers were killed. After some time spent in ob- 
servations, Daza set forward with a few soldiers without arms, 
to effect a peaceable reconciliation with the Indians. On leav- 
ing, he recommended the missionaries not to move from their 
present situation without receiving a letter from him. But, 
heedless of this advice, they were decoyed by the natives into 
canoes, and after proceeding some distance on the river, came to 
a point of land where, on the declivity of a hill, were a multi- 
tude of Indians painted black, with helmets of feathers, and 
armed with lances. The head of the murdered Daza and the 
hands of his soldiers were elevated upon spears. Despite this 
terrible spectacle, Verdelete landed and advanced boldly toward 
the savages, who, at a concerted signal, rushed upon the party, 
killing both the missionaries and nearly all the escort. 

The barbarians celebrated their triumph by a feast, at which 
they devoured their victims, making use of their skulls for drink- 
ing-cups. Their vestments were used in the dance, and the 
chalices and other holy utensils broken to pieces and made 
into nose and ear pendants. The chronicler states that many 
died of their excesses on this occasion ; some were dashed to 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 459 

pieces over precipices, and several were drowned, as a mark of 
Almighty vengeance for these sacrileges. At least, he adds, 
such was the information given by the Indians to a missionary 
who in after times visited the country. The death of Verdelete 
occurred in January, 1612. 

For many years the Indians of Tologalpa saw nothing more 
of the Christians, but toward the close of the 17th century oth- 
er attempts were made, and missionary establishments formed 
in Segovia, all of which were eventually abandoned. Efforts 
were made to convert the Indians of Olancho shortly after the 
martyrdom of Verdelete. A young Andalusian, accompanied by 
a lay brother, and four Ruatan Indians as interpreters, landed 
at Cape Gracias a Dios in 1622. They wandered for two days 
in a wild country bearing no traces of humanity ; occasionally, 
however, they descried natives at a distance, who, on perceiving 
the strangers, fled in consternation. They at last encountered 
the Indians in a procession, the description of which and the 
subsequent narration of the patriarchal chief of the tribe indi- 
cates the love of the marvelous characterizing the accounts of 
the Spanish missionaries. The padres were kindly received, 
and the work of Christianizing was conducted with the greatest 
ardor. Martinez and two companions were murdered in 1623 
by the Albatuinas, a tribe inhabiting the interior of Olancho. 
The Guabas, another nation, are described as mulattoes, and 
the progeny of a party of Spaniards who had been wrecked on 
the coast. The missionary labors were gradually discontinued. 
In 1661 the Poyas tribe made a descent upon the valley of 
Olancho, but were soon reduced by Escoto, a landed proprietor, 
and a military party raised for the purpose. The Padre Goi- 
coechea renewed the attempts to civilize the Xicaques as late as 
1805. He passed the mountain and valley of Agalteca, and 
founded the villages of Pacura and San Estevan (named after 
the martyr Yerdelete), and now known as '•^ Conqxdstaa.'''' All 
traces of the cannibalism attributed to these Indians by Fer- 
nando Columbus and by the missionaries has long since disap- 
peared. 

With the conquest of the Indian tribes within fifteen years 
after the landing of Cristoval de Oli, Honduras was erected into 
a province of the kingdom of Guatemala, under the Nueva 



460 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

Audiencia established at Comayagua. Far removed from the 
mother country, Guatemala received no protection, and scarcely 
any assistance from Spain save the necessary regulating of its 
revenues and offices by the " Council of the Indies," and the 
collecting of the king's fifths of the proceeds of the mines. As 
in Mexico and Peru, the principal industry was that of gold and 
silver mining, begetting, particularly in Honduras, a distaste for 
agricultural pursuits, except in the great plains and valleys, 
where considerable quantities of tropical produce were cultivated 
for export. The raising of cattle soon assumed an importance 
only second to mining. The European wars, in which Spain 
was engaged during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, 
subjected the coast to occasional attack and to the incursions of 
buccaneers, to whom the adjacent West India islands offered 
convenient places of retreat and rendezvous for the division of 
booty. With these few exceptions, the most profound tranquil- 
lity reigned in the Guatemalan provinces. The Spanish mili- 
tary, consisting of a handful of troops quartered in Guatemala, 
scarcely merited the appellation of an army. The Catholic relig- 
ion extended exclusively throughout the country ; the Church 
establishment, under the guidance of the Archbishop of Guate- 
mala, was divided into bishoprics, curacies, and parishes, reach- 
ing in hundreds of ramifications to the remotest confines of civ- 
ilization. 

To trace the history of Guatemala from the period of the Con- 
quest to the Independence would be inconsistent with the brev- 
ity of this sketch. The system of colonial government by which 
Spain, from a great distance, ruled equably and successfully, for 
nearly three centuries, vast continents with many millions of in- 
habitants, must ever excite the admiration of the world. Coun- 
tries entirely dissimilar in climate, productions, and people, 
moved with equal regularity in one political orbit, guided by its 
harmonizing influence. The Guatemalan provinces formed a 
galaxy under the sway of this wonderful system, and existed, as 
has been observed, in absolute tranquillity. 

The charge of maintaining the Spanish authority was in- 
trusted to officers enjoying salaries and honors almost rivaling 
actual sovereignty, under the title of viceroys and captains- 
general. Guatemala became a capitaneria, into six of which, 



HISTORICAL SICETCH. 461 

and four viceroyalties, Spanish America was divided. The ad- 
ministration of justice was confided to audiencias, one of which, 
as has aheadj been stated, was established by royal decree at 
Comayagua in 1543. This political and civil organization un- 
derwent few if any changes during the centuries of Spanish sway 
in Guatemala. The provinces were subsequently represented 
at the court of Madrid by viceroyal deputies. 

In Spain existed throughout this era the celebrated conven- 
tion known as the " Council of the Indies," which, established 
as early as 1511, continued thereafter to exercise its authority 
over the affairs of the provinces. It was also a supreme court 
of appeals from the decisions of the audiencias. Composed of 
learned, sagacious men, well versed in the requirements and pe- 
culiar position of the colonies, this body was regarded by the 
people with the most sincere veneration. It professed to reward 
chivalrous deeds, to punish delinquents, and redress wrongs. 
Its powers were as absolute as they were extensive. In its 
gift were the principal civil and ecclesiastical colonial oflSces, 
and its influence mainly guided the military as well as financial 
and commercial affairs of Spanish America. But even so potent 
an arm of protection, apparently stretched in friendly attitude 
toward the colonies, offered in reality no succor to the oppressed 
Indian tribes, who gradually but surely were fading before their 
pitiless task-masters ; and even the Spanish inhabitants were 
but seldom enabled to gain the ear of the council, surrounded 
as it was with disheartening formalities. 

The system of finances was founded on the principles, 1st, 
that the king was the proprietor of the lands ; 2d, the payment 
by the Indians of a contribution or capitation ; 3d, a tenth part 
of the produce of the land was paid under the denomination of 
tithes, which were levied for the protection of the king, and 
granted to the churches under the sanction of different popes ; 
4th, the indirect taxes, or customs ; the alcabala, or duty paid 
on selling most articles of commerce or provisions, and the fifth 
(quinto) of all gold and silver extracted from the mines not be- 
longing to the king. The sale of tobacco, salt, cards, and some 
other less important articles, was confined to the royal officers. 
The postal revenues also passed into the king's treasury, and in 
some provinces a duty was paid for the right of establishing and 



462 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

using ferries, for keeping game-cocks, and for selling the "bever- 
ages known as guara^o and pulque. The revenues were col- 
lected Tby officers of the different departments of the administra- 
tion, and placed at the disposal of the Juntas Superiores de 
Hacienda meeting at the capitals, and which were composed of 
the Intendente, who was the president, the Regent of the Au- 
diencia, two Contadores Majores, the Fiscal de la Civil, the 
Oficial Real (senior in office), and one Escrihano Heal.^ 

The condition of the Spanish- American provinces under the 
Spanish rule is forcibly depicted in the letters of Mr. William 
Walton to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, etc., pub- 
lished in London in 1814. Bribery and corruption were the 
springs by which every thing was moved. Monopolies of va- 
rious kinds, and in the most essential articles, absorbed the in- 
dustry of the lower classes ; and restrictions of trade and pro- 
hibitory systems rendered every thing stagnant, and left the 
choicest productions of no value. Besides the onerous monop- 
olies which existed in favor of the crown and of individuals, the 
liberty of the press was unknown, the planting of the vine and 
olive was forbidden in most sections, f generally the distilling of 
spirits, and also the growing of hemp and flax. It was unlaw- 
ful to whale or fish for cod, as well as to trade between the re- 
spective provinces, not only in articles brought from Spain, but 
even in those of their own growth. Coasting trade was not al- 
lowed, and intercourse with foreigners was pronounced a capi- 
tal crime, and punished as such. 

Estrada dh&exye^ {Examen Imparcial, fol. 149) that the Span- 
ish government, in order to hold the Americans in greater sub- 
jection to its own dominion, conceived that the best means was 
to prohibit them from manufacturing any thing made in Spain, 
or from growing on their soil any of her productions. Hence 
they were forbidden to rival the wine, brandies, oil, raisins, al- 
monds, silk, cloth, glass, etc., of the mother country, on whom 

* See ''Titulos de la Alcahala," ''Ensayo del Oro," etc., Eecofilacion de las 

Indias. 

t " Quedando expresamente prohibido para la Nueva Espana Tierra-firmc y 
Santa Fe, los vinos, aguardientes, vinagre, aceyte de olivas, pasas, y almendras, 
de Peru y Chili y privados rigorosamente en todas partes los plantios de olivares 
y \mas."— Vide Gazeta de Mexico, 6 de Octobre, 1804 ; also. Censor Extraordina- 
rio,No.59, Cadiz, 1812. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 463 

they became dependent for their supplies of these articles. They 
were not suffered to work the quicksilver mines, with which their 
country abounds, and the king preferred to expend a consider- 
able sum annually in the port of Trieste than that the Ameri- 
cans should not be beholden to him for the requisites to araal- 
gafnate theu- ores. * * * * * * The great restrictions on the im- 
portation of books were also extremely grievous ; for, if any 
thing besides prayer-books and catechisms escaped the vigilance 
of the Custom-house searcher, it was difficult to elude the fangs 
of the Inquisition, on whose expurgatory list were to be found 
the best and most useful authors in modern languages. It even 
entered into the colonial policy of Spain to hide from the x4.mer- 
icans the real and faithful details of the primitive conquest of 
their country ; so much so, that the works of Las Casas, who 
was at the same time venerated as a saint, were forbidden by 
government because they constituted a true and just picture of 
the horrors and cruelties committed by the first conquerors 
against the inoffensive Indians, and enumerated the ravages and 
destruction of the principal towns with the ardor of a Christian 
and the truth of an eyewitness. Epic poems and romances in 
praise of the first conquerors, like the history of Solis, were 
alone suffered to be read, and in which the ignorance and vices 
of the defenseless natives were alleged as the plea for the un- 
heard-of butcheries which so soon depeopled these lately-dis- 
covered nations of the world. ***** 

Patriotic societies, which had for their object beneficence and 
the dissemination of knowledge, were prohibited under the most 
specious pretexts, as well as the study of the laws and rights 
of nations, which latter were supposed to form no part of the 
claims of Americans. The Indian college of Tlalclolco was 
abolished because the natives of Colora therein acquired infor- 
mation. Cacique Cirilo de Castilla spent thirty years of his 
life in endeavoring to found an Indian college in La Puebla, but 
died in Madrid without succeeding. Don Juan Francisco, an 
Opata chief, ti-aveled to Mexico on foot, a distance of five hund- 
red leagues, and then crossed the ocean to Madrid, solely to so- 
licit a grant to found a school in his own interior province, for 
the only purpose of teaching his fellow-Indians the first rudi- 
ments ; but he was refused by the Council of the Indies in 



464 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

1798. A patriotic society, founded by the "benevolent Villaur- 
rutia in Guatemala for the object of encouraging the arts and 
sciences, was also interdicted as offensive to the views of the 
court.* 

It was not until early in the present century that the first re- 
corded symptoms of revolt began to manifest themselves. There 
can scarcely be drawn any parallel between the chain of events 
leading to the Central American Revolution and that of the Brit- 
ish American colonies. The inborn adherence to their rights, 
and the sturdy opposition to tyranny distinguishing the patriots 
of the North, were wanting in the lethargic Central Americans, 
among whom public instruction was confined to the wealthy and 
the members ofthe Church, freedom of discussion unknown, and 
the minds of the people shrouded in the profoundest ignorance. 
As a consequence, stirring incidents like those preceding the 
American Revolution were not brought out by resistance to in- 
novations upon rights which the people lacked the intelligence 
to appreciate and the spirit to assert. The great body of those 
who, by education, were able to estimate the beneficial results 
of a political change, were the occupants of lucrative ofiices, 
which, under the favor of the viceroys, had descended without 
contention through certain families almost as hereditary privi- 
leges. 

Those families had gradually grown into a wealthy aristocra- 
cy, assuming the title oi Woblesse, some of them having pur- 
chased patents of nobility, and greedily monopolizing for them- 
selves and friends every avenue to preferment and wealth. 
Most of the office-holders were American-born, but the sons of 
European Spaniards. The overbearing manners of an ignorant, 
self-created nobility, possessing no virtuous or manly traits, in- 
stead of inspiring the people with respect, irritated and disgust- 
ed them. The more intelligent classes, by their precarious com- 
mercial intercourse with foreigners, had already begun to esti- 
mate this aristocracy, as well as the power of the mother coun- 
try, at its real value. The impression, which had been carefully 
inculcated by Spain into the minds of her colonists, that the oth- 

* This institution (Sodedad Economica de los Amigos del Reyno) was re-estab- 
lished after the Independence, and is still in existence. In 1855 it contributed a 
valuable scientific collection to the Great Exhibition at Paris. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 465 

er nations of Europe were tributary to her, had been dispelled by 
the great events agitating Europe. The circulation of foreign 
news and the introduction of the useful inventions was jealous- 
ly guarded against ; but, despite these precautions, each of the 
provinces had its galaxy of talented and liberally educated men, 
among whom could be cited the celebrated scholar. Dr. Ruis, of 
Nicaragua, and Senors Valle, Barrundia, and Matute, of Hondu- 
ras and Guatemala. 

Without the incentive of extreme and violent acts of tyran- 
ny, such as usually beget opposition in an oppressed people, the 
course of the government produced an increasing discontent 
among the most intelligent and reflective men. The waning 
fortunes of Spain had given rise to the levying of contributions 
in the provinces, which, though at first cheerfully paid by all 
parties, weighed at last so heavily on the people as to cause au- 
dible murmurs of dissatisfaction. 

The Indian tribes, afterward a powerful political element in 
Central America, had been for many years ostensibly protected, 
but were in reality kept in ignorance and inferiority. The Span- 
ish laws considered them as minors for life, subjecting them to 
perpetual tutelage. Among the ordinances to prevent their re- 
ceiving instruction in any way was one prohibiting the Span- 
iards from entering the Indian villages ; this, however, was not 
enforced for many years previous to the Independence. The 
Indians were also debarred from dancing or horse-riding, to pre- 
vent their acquiring any of the exercises of war ; they were often 
cruelly tortured at the public whipping-post, and proprietors of 
mines could compel them to work at stipulated small wages. 

The feeble encouragement lent by the government to the prog- 
ress of education and the liberal arts in Central America was 
gradually withdrawn toward the close of the Spanish sovereign- 
ty, and the system of exactions and unjust contribution inr 
creased in rigor. Some fatality seemed to hasten the Spanish 
government to acts which could only accelerate the separation 
from her of the provinces. Pamphlets, and the writings and 
opinions of leading men, began to kindle a yearning for freedom, 
which increased with every fresh instance of oppression. In- 
surrections took place in 1812 in San Salvador and Nicaragua, 
which were promptly quelled, and the disaffected sent to Spain 

Gg 



466 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUKAS. 

for trial. Costa Eica, which took part against the insurgents, 
was rewarded with the title of Tnuy noble conferred upon the 
citj of Cartago, and ciudades upon the villages Heredia and 
San Jose. The city of Leon, however, claims the honor of hav- 
ing first raised the cry of independence from Spain. 

Various instances of relbellion against the Spanish authority 
occurred up to 1821, animated, doubtless, by the example of 
Mexico, where the patriots Hidalgo, Morelos, Mina, and Victo- 
ria had waged in turn a war of independence with varying for- 
tunes since 1809. The triumph of the patriotic cause in Mexico 
fanned the flame into new life in Central America, and with the 
arrival of Gavino Gainza from Spain with news of the recent 
political changes in the peninsula, the fate of Spanish sovereign- 
ty was sealed. Conventions were held at Guatemala by the 
clergy and the leading families, and the country was publicl}' 
declared independent on the 15th of September, 1821, amid the 
shouts of the populace. The revolution was a peaceable and 
bloodless one. The proclamation or declaration of independ- 
ence bears the signature of Gavino Gainza, afterward Provision- 
al President ; but this document was the product of the patriot 
Jose del Valle, who at that epoch appears, in point of zeal and 
industry, to have been the Samuel Adams of Central American 
independence. The Guatemalan viceroyal deputies at Madrid 
responded to this declaration on the following December by a 
splendid banquet, fully indorsing the proceedings of their colo- 
nial fellow-citizens. 




QEEAT SE,1X OF nOKDdKAS. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 467 



CHAPTER XXV. 

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 1821-1843. 

The Central American Republic. — The Serviles and Liberals. — Francisco Mo- 
razan. — The Republic in Prosperity. — Rafael Carrera. — Dissolution of the 
Union. — Morazan a Fugitive. — Triumph of the Serviles. — Return of Morazan. 
— His Betrayal and Death. 

From their renunciation of Spanish authority, the Central 
American States have presented, with brief intervals, a deplora- 
ble spectacle to every lover of republican institutions. The 
experiment of self-government, after thirty-five years of revolu- 
tions and exhausting wars, has proved itself a lamentable fail- 
ure. With no lack of patriotism, or a consciousness of their 
responsible position before the world, they have shown a blind 
persistence in frantic sectional strifes and aimless revolutions, 
each of which has but the more fatally impelled the country to 
its present enfeebled condition. Various styles of republican- 
ism have arisen and disappeared, and a generation has passed 
away in the futile attempt to unite forms of government with 
political theories, while between them only repelling forces have 
existed. 

In the vain endeavor to supply radical defects by a reorgan- 
ization of the social system, violent and frequent changes, in- 
volving wars of castes, have taken place, until a country, em- 
bracing the most valuable portion of the continent, with a geo- 
graphical position as an avenue for universal commerce not sur- 
passed in the globe, has descended, with surprising rapidity, to 
decay and political insignificancCi The example afforded by the 
astonishing progress of the United States remained unheeded, 
save by impracticable imitations of our Constitution, without the 
moderation and intelligence to turn them to account. The pro- 
nunciamiejitos of ambitious leaders were generally followed by 
an appeal to arms. The president of to-day might be the ex- 
ile of to-morrow ; the minister of one week the fomenter of in- 
surrection the next. What in the United States is effected by 



468 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

the ballot-box, was there accomplished by the cannon and bay- 
onet. 

The successive eras of bloodshed and anarchy are illustra- 
tions of the great truth that republican institutions can not ex- 
ist where popular ignorance and unprincipled rulers are constant 
enemies to progress and the blessings of liberty. Auspicious 
as was the dawn of freedom upon Central America, it is true 
that, since that event, the country has afforded but a melan- 
choly caricature upon the name of republicanism, indicating by 
incontestable facts that its ruin was but precipitated by the 
separation from Spain. 

The intelligence of the independence was responded to in 
Honduras and San Salvador by a similar declaration on their 
part ; the local authorities were deposed, but, being natives of 
the country, were reinstated on an acquiescence in the general 
movement. Nicaragua did not join the Revolution until th( 
11th of October, when that province declared for the Mexican 
plan of Iguala, the object of which was the establishment of a 
Spanish prince on the throne, but to be independent of the moth- 
er country. A provisional government was formed, to hold pow- 
er until the 1st of March, 1822. A General Congress of dele- 
gates from the provinces met at Guatemala, but were forcibl}- 
prevented from carrying their measures into effect by a popular 
tumult, instigated by the adherents to the old vice-royal insti- 
tutions ; and after some days of ineffectual legislation they dis- 
solved. 

It was here that the Liberals, as they were afterward called, 
first found that their patriotic views were not to be realized 
without a struggle. The establishment of Iturbide on the 
Mexican throne had excited the ambition of a large party to 
form an empire in conjunction with that country, and Gainza 
publicly announced his views as favorable to such a project m 
a manifesto, dated 5th of January, which he read in person, a? 
President of the Republic, and formally announcing the connec- 
tion with Mexico.* San Salvador signalized herself by an un- 

* The policy of Gainza appears to have been anticipated by Vidaurre, who. 
writing from Puerto Principe, says, "La noticia que voy a comunicar a V. no 
debe sorprenderle. Guatemala ha declarado su Independencia, y Gainza esta 
a la cabeza del sistema libre. * * * * =i! * Pero siendo nombrado Inspector 
General Gainza por la Espaua y convertirse contra ella, es lo que no desimnlo. 



HISTOEICAL SKETCH. 469 

compromising opposition to this measure. She erected a gov- 
ernment of her own, took up arms in defense of absolute inde- 
pendence, and was seconded by a portion of Nicaragua. The 
tirst blood shed in the factious wars of Central America was 
durino; the strifes at Guatemala between the Mexican and E,e- 
publican parties ; but at San Salvador was fought, on the 3d 
of June, the first pitched battle, waged by the Mexican party 
against that state in support of the pretensions of Iturbide. 
The invading army was defeated and dispersed. The provis- 
ional government of the state, aware of their inability to cope 
with Mexico and the rest of Central America, publicly proclaim- 
ed their annexation to the United States by an act bearing date 
the 2d of December, but it is not known that any reply was 
made to the decree. San Salvador was shortly afterward in- 
vested by General Filisola, who was dispatched against it with 
a large force from Ciudad Real. The city surrendered on the 
7th of February, 1823, and Central America became virtually 
incorporated with Mexico, though the recognition by Costa Rica, 
San Salvador, and the city of Granada was still withheld. 

At this juncture the news arrived of the fall of Iturbide in 
Mexico, and insurrections breaking out in various sections of 
the republic against the Mexican authorities, the National Con- 
stituent Assembly again convened at Guatemala. On the 24th 
of June the " Republic of Central America" was proclaimed, 
consisting of the five Central American provinces ; the Federal 
Constitution was modeled after that of the United States of 
North America. A national flag of blue, white, and blue was 
adopted, and has since been mainly preserved in the States as 
distinct sovereignties. The Assembly enacted many liberal 
laws, and, at the close of the year 1823, the republic enjoyed 
uninterrupted peace. 

During the ensuing year serious insurrections arose in Leon, 
Nicaragua, where, after numerous skirmishes and bloody bat- 
tles, the city was attacked by Sacano and Salas, and endured a 
siege of one hundred and fourteen days, in which the most hor- 

=:,*** * * Qainza, desde que fue General contra Chili manifesto que su 
plan era su utilidad. Queria mando y riquezas en aquel partido que le ofrici- 
ese mayores ventajas." — Cartas Americanos Politicas y Morales sobre la Guerra 
Givll de las Americas. 1823. 



470 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

rible excesses were perpetrated ; but the besiegers were com- 
pelled to retire in January, 1825. This war, happening in 1824, 
was conducted by political chieftains for the commander-gen- 
eralship of that state, and was finally terminated by the array 
of the republic under General Arce. 

With this exception, the republic remained quiet through the 
years 1824-5, and was engaged in defending the boundaries of 
the different states and regulating the general government. On 
the 6th of February, 1825, the first Federal Congress convened, 
and General Manuel Jose Arce was elected President. An ec- 
clesiastical dispute between San Salvador and Guatemala was 
also submitted to an appeal to arms, leaving a rankling hatred 
between the two states never wholly eradicated. 

The second Federal Congress opened its session at Guate- 
mala on the 1st of March, 1826. The message of President Arce 
is perhaps the best criterion of the condition of the republic at 
that time. In it he congratulates the Legislature on the general 
tranquillity enjoyed by the States, and the establishment of 
friendly relations with foreign nations, with the single excep- 
tion of Spain, which still refused its recognition of the republic. 
Ministers and envoys had been sent to the principal powers, 
and a treaty of "commerce, friendship, and navigation" drawn 
up at Washington by the Central American minister, Senor Ca- 
nas. The Federal system had been perfected throughout the 
country, the public debt (" credito antiguo''') diminished, and 
liberal encouragement held out to foreign enterprise. 

" The government, anxious to establish the system of mutu- 
al instruction after the establishment of the new government, 
directed its minister at the United States to procure a professor, 
capable of transplanting and diffusing that plan in the republic, 
while it disseminated throughout the provinces a pamphlet, 
printed in Mexico, in which the new method was explained, and 
a committee was selected to translate the projects of Fourcroy., 
Condorcet, and Talleyrand on the subject of public instruc- 
tion."* 

The fall of Iturbide had terminated the plans of the Imperi- 
alists in behalf of Mexico, and the issue of permanent alliance 
with that country had temporarily ceased to exist. The polit- 
* Sketch of the History and Present State of Guatemala. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 471 

ical parties had already begun to be known as the " Servile" and 
"Liberal," though it was not until the election of Aycinena as 
Governor of Guatemala in 1826 that the factions nominally re- 
solved themselves into these distinctions. The Liberals, who 
possessed some of the ablest and most patriotic men of the 
country, were composed of the large body of tlie middle classes, 
who, since the dawn of liberty, had particularly labored for the 
establishment of a Federal Republic, modeled, to some extent, 
after that of the United States. They avowed for their princi- 
ples the equalizing and instruction of all classes, hostility to a 
revival of the former so-called nobility or aristocracy, and the 
advancement of really just and liberal measures. These, in their 
patriotic zeal, they attempted to establish among a people unfit- 
ted by ignorance and hereditary prejudices to understand them. 

The Serviles, or Conservatives, were understood as embracing 
the remnants of the old aristocracy and the priesthood, who, by 
wealth and religious influence, controlled the Indian, negro, and 
mixed races. Their object had been, as disclosed since the first 
days of the Independence, the establishment of their own crea- 
tures in power, the subversion of the liberties of the people, and 
the gradual erection of a supreme dictatorship or monarchy, as 
circumstances might direct. 

The republic continued to exist under the administration of 
Arce as originally decreed, but was constantly subjected to tlie 
destroying agencies of both political parties. Ambitious lead- 
ers in Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua arose against the 
federal authorities, and in Costa Rica an attempt was made, in 
1826, to restore the Spanish sovereignty. These rebellions, 
however, were mainly instigated by the Serviles, who, though 
looking forward to eventual monarchical institutions, now con- 
fined themselves to the work of supplanting the existing author- 
ities by their own partisans as the safest avenue to the con- 
summation of their schemes. Thus the wars for some years 
were ostensibly waged by the constituted Federal government 
against the insurrectionary movements in the several states — 
movements made, not so much for the purpose of effecting an 
immediate radical change in the government as for the elevation 
to power of local leaders of their own political views. 

The National Assembly, in 1824, signalized itself by abolish- 



472 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

ing slavery throughout the republic thenceforth and forever — 
this being the first instance of national action on this subject on 
the American continent. The whole number, however, thus eman- 
cipated, as is asserted by Molina, did not exceed one thousand, 
whose owners were indemnified for the losses thus sustained. 
Mr. Young Anderson's report says, "The citizens refused pecu- 
niary compensation, although such was provided and offered." 

It was in the midst of insurrections against the general gov- 
ernment that President Arce, on the 6th of September, 1826, 
professed to have discovered an organization against the repub- 
lic, led by Jose Francisco Barrundia, then Governor of Guate- 
mala, as one of the confederation of states. With an arbitrary 
assumption of power wholly unwarranted by the facts, he caused 
the arrest of the governor while presiding over the State Assem- 
bly, which was followed by the disarming of the civic militia. 
An extraordinary national Congress was convoked by Arce for 
a reorganization of the Federal system, but dissensions arising 
as to where it should be held, it never convened, and following 
quickly on these events commenced the desolating wars which 
have gradually reduced Central America to its present pitiable 
condition. Honduras and San Salvador declared themselves in- 
dependent of the confederation in the following year, and in each 
of these states severe battles were fought between the Liberal 
and Servile, or Federal forces, with varying success, but the vic- 
tory finally declaring for the combined troops of Honduras and 
Nicaragua, under the command of Lieutenant-colonel Diaz. 

This decisive result was mainly attributable to the bravery 
and skill of a native of Honduras, Francisco Morazan, who 
thenceforth became the acknowledged chief of the Liberal party, 
and in all respects the greatest man of the country. This lead- 
er was born about the year 1799, in Honduras ; his father was 
a native of Porto Rico, and his mother a lady of Tegucigalpa. 
His ancestors were natives of Corsica, a fact upon which he is 
said to have greatly prided himself. He was distinguished in 
youth for his active mind and impulsive disposition, and his tal- 
ents early gained him a prominent position in his native state. 
When only twenty-five years of age he was appointed Secretary- 
general, and afterward became Governor of Honduras. In the 
fourteen years succeeding his first victory in Honduras, his ca- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



473 




FKAHCISCO IIOEAZAN. 



reer was marked with singular activity and skill, and an unva- 
rying humanity in war before unknown in the bloody history 
of Central America. He is said to have united the qualities of 
the legislator and commander, with a frank, chivalrous bearing, 
inspiring his followers with a confidence of victory. His troops, 
animated by his personal bravery, loved and followed him witli 
feelings akin to idolatry. The numerous aboriginal tribe of 
Texiguat Indians joined his fortunes with scarcely an excep- 
tion — some of them forming his jealous and faithful body-guard 
— addressing him by the affectionate name of " ^^o," and cheer- 
fully following him, when nearly famished and exhausted, on 
the most fatiguing marches.* 

* "His figure was good, his features handsome and intelligent, his ruddy com- 
plexion and bright blue eye proving that his blood was different from that of his 



474 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

Earlj in 1828 Arce was craftily deprived of his position as 
President of the republic by the Vice-president Beltranca, in 
whose hands he had temporarily intrusted the supreme power, 
and who continued to exercise the functions of office until Jan- 
uary of the following year. During 1828 San Salvador was 
the scene of hotly-contested battles between the Federal forces, 
under the command of General Arce, and the state troops, in 
which the latter were twice defeated, and the engagements sig- 
nalized by the most appalling butcheries of prisoners. The Fed- 
eral government was temporarily re-established in San Salva- 
dor, but was soon afterward (^riven out by the inhabitants, who 
defeated the troops and took prisoners the Servile leaders. In 
the same year the Guatemalan forces were routed by those of 
Honduras, commanded by Morazan, who had now assumed the 
rank of general-in-chief of the Liberal forces. The victory whicli 
took place on the banks of the Kiver Lempa, in San Salvador, 
was followed up with vigor, and the defeated troops being a sec- 
ond time attacked, they laid down their arms. This engage- 
ment terminated the Federal authority under Servile auspices in 
Central America, and the influence of that party thenceforth rap- 
idly declined. Conspiracies and insurrections occurred in Gua- 
temala, and in January, 1829, the authorities of the state hav- 
ing been deposed, Morazan considered the time an auspicious 
one for an invasion of the state, which he shortly after accom- 
plished, at the head of two thousand San Salvador and Hondu- 
ras troops. After several engagements, the city of Guatemala 
was carried, the existing authorities expelled, and those deposed 
by the mob at Quesaltenango in 1826 reinstated in office. The 
former deputies and leading men of the Liberal party assembled, 
and extraordinary honors were decreed to Morazan. The old 
Federal Congress again assembled, and Barrundia, formerly Gov- 
ernor of Guatemala, was nominated President, Morazan gener- 
ously abstaining from availing himself of his military power. 

mongrel Spanisli countrymen. His address was frank and independent, and 
quite free from the mixture of pride and ignorance, fawning and insolence, so 
universal in the natives of Spanish America who have attained a little brief 
authority. He had acquired a knowledge of the French language after leaving 
school, and from reading French books and history, combined with his descent, 
had imbibed a great partiality for that nation." — Dunhp's Travels in Central 
America^ p. 171. 



HISTORICAL SICETCH. 475 

One of the first important acts of Morazan, after his triumph- 
ant re-establishment of the Liberal party in power, was to strike 
at the root of the disturbances which had hitherto agitated the 
country. A conspiracy against the new government being dis- 
covered on the part of the Archbishop of Guatemala, he was 
banished, in company with the principal monks and friars of 
that state. This decisive proceeding met witli universal ap- 
proval, and the Congress followed it with decrees prohibiting 
females from becoming nuns for the future, and suppressing all 
male convents. The act was immediately carried into effect 
throughout the republic. The exactions and severities prac- 
ticed by the Servile party while in power was met by the new 
government with general confiscations of property. The justice 
and prudence of this proceeding has been called in question ; 
but such severities were in part merited by those who had not 
scrupled to enrich themselves at the expense of the defeated, 
a practice which has since been followed in Central America. 
Arce, Beltranea, and the State and Federal ministers of the Ser- 
vile party were banished by act of the new Congress. 

The Liberal party had now regained their position in Cen- 
tral America. So general seemed the desire of the people to 
witness the re-establishment of the principles enunciated at the 
Independence, and for which the most illustrious citizens of the 
republic had labored for years preceding and subsequent to the 
Revolution, that scarcely a dissenting voice was heard against 
the new order of affairs. The confederation of states was re- 
newed, public education fostered, foreign immigration encour- 
aged, and the most intelligent and capable men of the country 
placed in the leading offices. At no time since the Lidepend- 
ence has Central America enjoyed an equal interval of tranquil- 
lity. The praise of this striking social revolution is principally 
due to Morazan, who now evinced for the cabinet a talent not 
exceeded by that already displayed in the field. 

During the years 1829, '30, '31, the military operations of 
Morazan were confined to the extermination of bands of robbers 
who had formed during the civil wars. Such was his desire to 
maintain peace, even at the hazard of his own power, that, al- 
though Costa E,ica declared itself independent of the republic 
shortly after the establishment of the Liberal party, he prefer- 



476 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

red that example rather than force should restore her to the 
confederation. His prudence and judgment were j ustified, and 
early in 1831 that state peaceably acknowledged the Federal 
authority. 

The same moderation was shown in his management of the 
factions of Honduras in 1829. An insurrection breaking out 
in Olancho, produced by an attempt at taxation, was quelled by 
Morazan in person, who, with a small escort, proceeded into the 
department, and by his conciliatory measures succeeded in re- 
storing peace. The goal toward which the most patriotic men 
of the country had struggled unceasingly for many years seem- 
ed now to have been reached. The republic had already as- 
sumed a position among the nations. 

This season of tranquillity was destined to but short dura- 
tion. Th.e rude hand of war, with all the elements of discord, 
appeared to have slumbered during this interval only to burst 
forth with the greater fury. In 1832 the exiled President Arce 
returned with a large force from Mexico, and nearly simultane- 
ously insurrections broke out in San Salvador. Morazan prompt- 
ly invaded the state, and, having met and defeated the insurgents, 
took the city of San Salvador, arrested the Revolutionists, and 
sent them to Guatemala for trial. He then committed the in- 
discretion of assuming the supreme power of the state, an error 
which was taken advantage of by the expectant Serviles to ex- 
cite discontent and rebellion throughout the country. Various 
causes of dissatisfaction were discovered, secession was openly 
advocated as a coercive measure, and in April, 1833, Honduras, 
San Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica had formally renounced 
the authority of the Federal government. Though a disruption 
of the States had virtually taken place, the actual dissolution of 
the Central American Union can not be said to have occurred, 
as the Federal authorities thereafter continued to discharge the 
functions of office. The new Congress on the basis of an equal 
representation of the States never met. 

Frequent internal dissensions occurred in the state through 
the years 1834—5, in only one of which — that relating to San 
Salvador — the State and Federal authorities came into collision. 
Though the year 1836 was a recurrence of the limited era of 
tranquillity above referred to, no successful attempt was made 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 477 

to re-establish the Federal government on a firm basis. Mean- 
while the Servile party, watchful of events, had been actively 
but silently concerting measures to regain their former power. 
Besides being mainly instrumental in exciting the States to re- 
bellion, they had joined with the priesthood in instigating the 
Indians to rise against the authorities. 

The first recorded organization of the aboriginal tribes against 
the government (a movement with which commenced the down- 
fall of the republic, and influenced materially the subsequent his- 
tory of the country) occurred in June, 1836. It was in this year 
that the cholera first made its appearance in Central America, 
The priests availed themselves of the terror inspired by the epi- 
demic to excite the lower orders against the authorities, persuad- 
ing them that the mortality was caused by the poisoning of the 
springs by the government agents. Serious disturbances en- 
sued ; the doctors, who had been commissioned to visit the lo- 
calities where the disease was most prevalent, were murdered, 
and all efforts, made by the government or by private means for 
the relief of the suffering Indians, were artfully construed by 
the priests and members of the Servile party to the accomplish- 
ment of their dark designs. The adoption of the Livingston 
Code of Laws, and the establishment of the new court for trial 
by jury in 1836, had gradually become extremely unpopular, 
especially among the Indians who had been compelled to labor 
in the construction of the new prisons. Each of these causes of 
discontent was exaggerated and distorted by the active agents 
of the Servile party. The disorders arising from these causes, 
at first regarded with unconcern by the government, speedily 
assumed an aspect well calculated to excite alarm. Great num- 
bers of the Indians met in the town of Santa Rosa, in Guate- 
mala, and, being visited by a body of government troops with 
orders to disperse the assemblage, a collision ensued, resulting 
in the defeat of the soldiers. 

As the battle in October, 1827, which brought the military 
talent of Morazan into notice, was on that account an occurrence 
of lasting importance in the history of Central America, so the 
affair at Santa Kosa was an event of equal moment, as first in- 
troducing into political life the Indian leader, Rafael Can-era, a 



478 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

man thenceforth to exert a baneful influence on the destinies of 
the republic* 

The year 1838 came in with renewed rebellions in various 
departments of Guatemala. As early as January the city of 
Guatemala was taken by Pedro Yalasquez, who assumed the 
authority with scarcely any opposition from the inhabitants. 
During this time, Carrera, who in cunning and fertility of expe- 
dient had become a formidable enemy, had collected a large 
body of Indians in Mita, where he was attacked by General Mo- 
razan in March, and his forces routed. The campaign, however, 
produced no important results, and a second one, in November, 
terminated in treaties, with which the year closed. In view of 
the alarming aspect of affairs, the supreme authority was tem- 
porarily consigned to General Morazan, Senor Paz assuming 
meanwhile the duties of chief magistrate. 

But the insurgents in San Salvador, taking advantage of the 
disturbed condition of the government, had again organized un- 
der the leadership of Francisco Malespin, and in August, Mo- 
razan proceeding thither to quell the revolt, his absence was im- 
proved by Carrera to attack the Federal troops under Bonilla, 
who was completely routed. Emboldened by this triumph, the 

* Dunlop describes Carrera as a "dark-colored and extremely ill-looking Mes- 
tizo. He was originally a servant to a woman of no very respectable character 
in Amatitlan, and afterward to a Spaniard, from whom he is supposed to have 
got the little knowledge and breeding he possessed when he first appeared on 
the political stage in Guatemala. Afterward he was employed as a pig-driver, 
that is, in purchasing and personally driving pigs from the villages to Guatemala, 
and the more populous towns. ******* n must be allowed, however, that, 
though at the commencement of his power he perpetrated some horrid acts of 
cruelty which any one must shudder to recount, and frequently put to death his 
real or supposed enemies with the most dreadful tortures, without a shadow of 
proof or form of trial, he has since conducted himself with remarkable modera- 
tion, and has done much to improve the administration of the laws, destroy rob- 
bers, and consolidate the government. By extortions and confiscations he has 
amassed some hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, lands, and houses, and 
it is consequently his interest to maintain a settled government and give pro- 
tection to property ; but in his private life he is more indecently immoral than 
could be conceived or understood by most English readers. ******* All 
classes, except the Indians, have never ceased to hate and fear him, and watch 
an opportunity to overturn his power ; and, though he takes great care always tn 
keep a body of troops near his person, and has large supplies of arms and am- 
munition at hand, he will certainly find that the very best troops in whom hr 
trusts will betray him, and that the arms and ammunition will one day be used 
for his destruction." — Page 89. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 479 

insurgents advanced upon Old Guatemala, which they occupied 
without resistance on the following day. They were encoun- 
tered by the Federal troops under Salazar, and in their turn de- 
feated with great slaughter. Had this leader followed up this 
advantage, the successes of Carrera might have been effectually 
checked ; but, owing to some disputes with rival commanders, 
he pettishly resigned his commission, and, the faction gaining 
power daily, the opportunity was lost. 

The National Congress this year passed an act authorizing 
the several states to frame laws for their own government, the 
Federal power reserving its general authority and the right to 
collect the customs. The act was a virtual acknowledgment of 
the disruption of the States. A few months later, the twelfth 
and last session of this assembly was held, and immediately 
after the States proclaimed their entire independence, and pro- 
ceeded to organize distinct governments. The act of Nicaragua 
declaring itself free, sovereign, and independent, is dated April 
30th, 1838.* Although a dissolution of the confederation had 
been formerly announced by all the states excepting Guatema- 
la in 1832, the Union appears to have been tacitly preserved 
and the National Congress recognized up to February, 1839, 
when Morazan concluded his second presidential term ; and 
with that expiration the Central American republic may be said 
to have ended. 

The year 1839 commenced with a general warlike movement 
throughout Central America. A total revolution had occurred 
in Guatemala, and the short space of twelve years had witness- 
ed the rise and fall of the Liberal party. Carrera, from a pas- 
sive instrument in the hands of the Servile party, had become an 
amljitious leader, wielding a terrible engine of destruction — the 
Indian hordes of Guatemala — but yet subservient to the behests 
of the priesthood, who, in their determination to crush Morazan 
and restore the lost privileges of the Church, did not scruple to 

* The Federal compact having been thus dissolved, the decree of April 17th, 
1 824, of the National Assembly, abolishing slaveiy in Central America, was ren- 
dered null and void for Nicaragua, a circumstance since seized upon by Walker 
(September 22d, 1856) to revive the original laws of the Spanish viceroyalty as 
to slavery, the right to hold which was thus virtually acknowledged, and that in- 
stitution again sanctioned in a country by which, thirty-two years previously, it 
had been rejected at the first session of the Republican Legislature. 



480 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

let loose the whirlwind, which neither they nor the self-created 
nobles of the Servile party were afterward able to control. 

It was now that Morazan began to display in an imminent 
degree the tireless energy and invincible perseverance which has 
left his name a landmark in the history of his country. The 
State of San Salvador still adhered to the old Federal govern- 
ment, and Morazan, constituting its capital his head-quarters, 
collected around him a considerable body of troops, in addition 
to those who had inseparably linked their fortunes with his. 
Faithful to the principles he had espoused from his earliest as- 
sociation with public life, he determined to maintain the Liberal 
cause, and, refusing to recognize the dissolution of the Union, 
retained the name of President, and prepared to meet the storm 
which now threatened him from every quarter. 

The first important move was from Nicaragua, from whence 
two thousand men entered San Salvador, defeated the Federal 
troops at the River Lempa, and took possession of San Vicente. 
After several bloody engagements, a decisive victory was gained 
by Morazan over the united forces of Honduras and Nicaragua, 
commanded by General Francisco Ferrara, who, after the sub- 
sequent complete restoration of the Servile party, exercised in 
Honduras a tyrannical rule scarcely less arbitrary than that of 
Carrera in Guatemala. 

The victory of the River Lempa was followed by similar suc- 
cesses in Honduras. General Jose Trinidad Cabanas, whose 
character and public services have been elsewhere described, 
was dispatched by Morazan to pursue the retreating enemy. 
After several engagements, Cabaiias took possession of Coma- 
yagua on the 28th of August, 1839, and shortly after of Teguci- 
galpa. Ferrara, meanwhile, had sustained a second defeat at 
the hands of Morazan, who, with a comparatively small force, 
attacked and routed his forces with great slaughter. These 
successes, however, were but the precursors of the ruin to which 
the Liberal party was rapidly hastening. The mob in San Sal- 
vador, excited by the emissaries of the Serviles and the priest- 
hood, arose against the authority of Morazan, but the insurrec- 
tion was speedily quelled. The nominal authority of the Lib- 
eral party was formerly renounced by a general revolution 
throughout Guatemala, while Carrera, who had been silently 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 481 

but actively collecting bis forces, made a sudden incursion upon 
the city of Guatemala, which, being entirely at his mercy, fell 
without resistance into his hands. 

A succession of diabolical cruelties followed the establish- 
ment of Carrera's authority in Guatemala. The party which, 
for the furtherance of its own nefarious designs, had not hesi- 
tated to encourage the ferocious advance of this brutal leader, 
now found itself unable to control the power they had invoked. 
Supported by his Indian hordes, who from affinity of blood and 
associations had become a terrible and irresistible agent ever 
at his command, Carrera assumed the dictatorship, and com- 
menced a system of murders and proscriptions against all of the 
opposite party who had not made their escape. On the 17tli 
of April the confederation of states was declared dissolved, and 
the State of Guatemala erected into an independent government. 

The progressive and liberal laws enacted by the preceding 
governments were annulled, and some institutions which had 
been abolished by Morazan were revived. Carrera, however, 
refused to restore to the priesthood many of the Church privi- 
leges, wisely refraining from recreating a power which, once 
firmly seated, would have quickly overthrown his authority. 
Each of the states named presidents or other executive officers, 
and nominal forms of government were established, though the 
empty name of republic still continued to be used. 

The year 1840 was marked with many important events. 
The power of Carrera being established, he directed his efforts 
toward inciting an insurrection in the Department of Quesalte- 
nango, which, after the dissolution of the republic, had erected 
itself into a sovereign state under the name of Los Altos. A 
division of Los Altos troops, marching to effect a junction with 
the forces of Morazan in San Salvador, were defeated by those 
of Guatemala under General Monteroso, and on the following 
day Carrera routed and dispersed the remainder of the oppos- 
ing army, after which the victors took possession of Quesal- 
tenango, which thenceforth became an integral part of Guate- 
mala. This result had been the object of Carrera in exciting, by 
means of his emissaries, the rebellion in Los Altos. Through- 
out this war, which was confined to Guatemala, the most appall- 
ing cruelties were perpetrated by the invading troops. The of- 

Hh 



482 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

ficers of the government were brutally murdered, and in many 
instances put publicly to death by slow tortures too horrible for 
narration. 

During this year all industry and commerce came to an end. 
Towns had fallen to ruins, agriculture had ceased, and the 
whole country relapsed into a state of wretched barbarism. 
From this description, however, Costa Rica should be partially 
excepted ; her position, remote from the theatre of war, had ex- 
empted her from participating in the strifes of her neighbors, 
and the rapid settlement of foreigners had been a powerful ele- 
ment in the development of her resources. 

The greatest efforts of General Morazan had only enabled 
him to collect twelve hundred men, with whom to oppose the 
alarming progress of Carrera. Secret advices from Guatema- 
la had represented the present as a favorable moment for ac- 
tion, and, advancing from San Salvador with his small army, he 
fought his way to Guatemala, which he entered and took pos- 
session of on the 18th of March. Here he was surrounded by 
live thousand troops under Carrera, and, being deserted by the 
perfidious parties who had invited him into the country, he was 
forced to cut his way out of the city through the masses of the 
enemy, leaving one half of his troops behind, many of whom had 
fallen in the twenty-four hours of desperate fighting preceding 
the order to retreat. Those who were unable to escape were 
barbarously massacred by order of Carrera. A party of officers, 
who sought refuge in the British consulate, were surrendered by 
the consul, with the understanding that they should have a le- 
gal trial, but were immediately butchered in the streets. 

Morazan effected a masterly retreat toward San Salvador, 
steadily repulsing the detachments sent in pursuit. His wav- 
ering fortunes had lost him the few adherents still remaining in 
San Salvador, and, seeing the country hopelessly passed into 
the power of the Servile party, he embarked on the 5th of April 
from the port of Libertad, with thirty-five friends and partisans, 
and arrived safely at Valparaiso in Chili. 

The object of the Servile party, which from the first had been 
the restoration of the Spanish form of government, was far from 
being accomplished by the overthrow of Morazan and the Lib- 
erals. Their policy, which they had fondly hoped to advance 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 483 

by enlisting the sword of Carrera, had been artfully considered 
by this leader, who now showed himself to be possessed of qual- 
ities for intrigue and command as surprising to his creators as 
they were inimical to their plans. Backed by his faithful but 
terrible Indian multitudes, and by the priesthood, whom he had 
found means to conciliate, he defied the efforts of the old party 
to regain their political power, and was thenceforth the virtual 
supreme dictator of the state. The departure of the only man 
with the nerve and talent to make a formidable enemy left him 
nothing to fear, and his attention was then, as it has since been, 
mainly directed to the gradual absorption of the remaining states 
into one power, under his own authority. 

As an act of retaliation upon San Salvador, that state was 
immediately invaded by Carrera with an overwhelming force, 
the authorities overthrown and replaced by others in his own in- 
terest, Malespin being appointed the military commander. The 
march of these invaders was marked with scenes of outrage and 
plunder still recurred to by the inhabitants with breathings of 
revenge and hate toward Carrera and his party. 

The States remained at peace after the departure of Morazan 
and throughout the year 1841. An attempt was made in the 
following year, in Nicaragua, to restore the Federal form of gov- 
ernment between that state and Honduras and San Salvador; 
but, although a president was chosen, and a supreme tribunal 
of legal appeal and a body of councilors decided upon, the proj- 
ect failed, owing to the refusal of Guatemala and Costa Eica 
to co-operate. The year 1842 is also a memorable one in the 
history of Central America as that in which General Morazan 
returned from his voluntary exile. Eeceiving encouraging ac- 
counts from his partisans in San Salvador, he landed at La 
Union in February. The intelligence of his return was received 
with renewed hopes by the now despairing Liberals, some of 
whom hastened to join him at the port. The State Legislature, 
however, immediately passed a decree of proscription against 
him and his. followers, and in Guatemala his movements were 
regarded with ill-concealed alarm. The hostile attitude of the 
existing government convinced Morazan that the time was not 
an auspicious one for revolutionizing that state, and, re-embark- 
ing, he proceeded to Costa Eica, where, with his followers, he 



484 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDUEAS- 

landed at the port of Calderas. Accompanied loj a considera- 
ble number of partisans, lie marched toward San Jose, and, win- 
ning over the small force at Jocote, he entered the capital of 
the state, where he was received with extraordinary demonstra- 
tions of joj. Carrillo, the governor, was deposed by the spon- 
taneous act of the people, and his life saved from their fury by 
the moderation of Morazan,who ordered him to be safely escort- 
ed to Calderas, whence he embarked for San Salvador. 

General Morazan was elected governor of the state, and 
scarcely had he consolidated his new government when he com- 
menced organizing an army for the support of those patriotic 
principles in the defense of which he had passed the best part 
of his life. His first attempts were made against Nicaragua, 
the forces of which, as Morazan declares in his last testament, 
were preparing to invade the disputed Department of Guana- 
caste, ostensibly to defend its territory, but in reality a renewal 
of the Servile faction to crush the threatened revival of the Lib- 
eral party in Central America. Had he been successful in en- 
tering Nicaragua as he proposed, he would from that point have 
set on foot a military expedition sufficiently powerful to subdue 
Central America and re-establish the republic. 

His political views had been materially enlarged and improved 
by his twenty months' residence in South America. During his 
exUe, far removed from the exciting theatre of strife, he had 
availed himself of his leisure to make minute observations upon 
the governmental policy of Chili and Peru, to note their defects, 
and compare their advantages with the inexperienced institu- 
tions of his own country. He came prepared to introduce many 
important changes into the former republican system of Central 
America, and advanced to the work with an ardor and sincerity 
which can leave no question of the purity of his motives. 

But twenty years of bloodshed and fruitless changes had im- 
bued the Costa Ricans with a prudent dislike of military expe- 
ditions. Though less prostrated than the other states, Costa 
Eica had learned by sad experience the demoralizing and de- 
structive effects of revolutions. The general desire of the peo- 
ple was to keep aloof from the dissensions of the country, a pol- 
icy, with rare exceptions, steadily adhered to since the Inde- 
pendence, and exhibiting as its results a condition of prosperity 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 485 

affording a surprising contrast to the deplorable state of the sis- 
ter republics. The efforts of Morazan to raise troops and mon- 
ey were disapproved by the Legislature, and the conscriptions 
evaded in every way by the people. Every discouragement 
was thrown in his path, not only by the apathetic spirit of the 
Costa Ricans, but by the artful intrigues of foreign agents and 
those of Guatemala, who lost no opportunity to inflame the dis- 
content of the lower classes. The known antipathy of Mora- 
zan to the priesthood, and his banishment of the friars from Gua- 
temala in 1829, had created a powerful enemy in the Church. 
The contribution of $50,000, which he demanded for the pur- 
poses of this war, had not been raised in August, and secret or- 
ganizations had already been formed against him. 

The popular feeling against Morazan was greatly imbittered 
by an unfortunate event, which alienated from him some of the 
most influential families of the state, and probably hastened his 
tragical end. A young lady of Costa Rica had been abducted 
from her father's house by one of Morazan's ofiicers, an affair 
which led to his imprisonment by his superior officer, General 
Rivas. Mortified by this indignity, and rendered desperate by 
the loss of the lady, Molina excited an insurrection among the 
troops, and, assuming the command, had Rivas put to death. 
General Sachet was dispatched to Calderas with the flower of 
the army to be present at the trial of Molina, who, although the 
most strenuous efforts were made by his friends to save his life, 
was condemned and shot. The youth and previous character 
of Molina, his apathy concerning his fate, and his voluntary sur- 
render to the authorities after the first fatal act, were all urged 
by his family and friends, but in vain. Morazan, though mild 
and relenting in disposition, was inflexible in the administration 
of justice. 

On the 11th of September, by a preconcerted movement, the 
insurrection broke out simultaneously at Alajuela, Heredia, and 
San Jose. On that day Morazan was entertaining a number 
of friends at the government house in the capital when the dis- 
turbance commenced in the streets. Don Juan Mora (afterward 
president of the state) was among the guests, and, exercising a 
controlling influence among the people, he proceeded to inquire 
the cause of the outbreak, while Morazan hastened to organize 



486 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

his small forces at the cuartel. Most of his troops, however, 
were absent, a circumstance seized upon by his enemies, the 
priests, as peculiarly auspicious. He found the Plaza filled 
with the excited populace, and the troops already drawn up 
and preparing to defend themselves. Mora, true to his servile 
instincts, never returned. 

The scanty force of the '•^Morazanistos''' at this time were 
scattered about the town, but soon fought their way to the cuar- 
tel, where the ground was fiercely contested until night, when 
Morazan retained possession of a small portion of the square. 
The firing now ceased on the part of the besieged, but was con- 
tinued through the night by the enemy. On the following 
morning, General Cabanas, with but twenty-five men, drove the 
assailants as far as the powder magazine, in the direction of the 
cemetery; but the enemy being re-enforced, and now amounting 
to above two thousand men. Cabanas in turn was forced to re- 
treat. During the next day the contest around the cuartel was 
continued with obstinate fury, neither side yielding a foot of 
ground, and each apparently determined to fight to the death ; 
the assailants urged on and encouraged by the priests, and the 
soldiers of Morazan encouraged by his personal courage and the 
prestige of his name. 

But on the second day the enemy gained possession of the 
church commanding the cuartel, and, being joined by the "Ala- 
juelas" and above twelve hundred recruits, resistance against 
such odds seemed impossible. Morazan, seeing his little force 
constantly falling around him, retired to the cuartel, surrounded 
by upward of three thousand of the enemy, afterward increased 
to five thousand ; but such was the known courage and determ- 
ination of the besieged, that none were found prepared to carry 
the place by assault. Proposals were now made for the surren- 
der of Generals Villaseiior and Cordero, and the remainder of 
the party to leave Costa Rica unmolested. The generous Mo- 
razan refused to accept such conditions, and the fighting was 
continued through the third day. 

At two o'clock General Cabanas, who, with a few men, had 
volunteered to protect the house where the family of Morazan 
were concealed, was driven back. The ladies were immediate- 
ly dragged forth and conveyed to general quarters, where a. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 487 

French physician, Dr. Castello, proposed to deliver them over 
to the mob ; and, but for the manly interference of the Padre 
Madriz, this infamy would have been accomplished. On this 
day Morazan was severely wounded, but to the last it was ob- 
served that he preserved that placid serenity which his friends 
had ever loved to observe. New propositions were made for the 
surrender of Villasenor and Cordero ; and another, that " the 
besieged should march, with Morazan at their head, to the head- 
quarters of the enemy, where their fate should be decided in half 
an hour ! " These and other inhuman propositions were prompt- 
ly rejected. 

As night approached, the situation of the besieged became 
desperate ; the handful of troops in possession of the cuartel, 
exhausted with eighty hours' constant fighting, were unable to 
protract the combat. Ammunition began to fail, and the dis- 
tances for firing were limited by rule. Morazan was now suf- 
fering with a delirium of fever produced by his wound. At mid- 
night a consultation was held by the principal ofiicers, at which 
it was decided to cut their way that night through the enemy's 
lines. At this time Morazan was sleeping in his cloak, and the 
hour was deferred until three o'clock A.M., when the general, 
awaking the whole force, issued from the cuartel, the scene il- 
lumined by a full moon, and the little party offering a fair mark 
for their assailants. 

The column took the Cartago road, losing nearly one thhd 
of their number in this movement. Five squares from the cuar- 
tel they encountered a hide rope stretched across the street, and 
a detachment of the enemy posted behind a barricade which had 
been erected near by. This the " Cartages" were ordered to 
charge, but fell back in disorder upon a small band of Texiguat 
Indians who had joined Morazan on his arrival from South 
America. These followed Morazan, who spurred upon the en- 
emy, and with an English riding-whip struck one of the enemy 
across the face, when the Indians charged, and the whole block- 
ading party fled, leaving the street clear. They then continued 
their march out of the town, encountering and dispersing sev- 
eral parties who had been dispatched to cut off their retreat. 
On the outskirts of the town the natives of Cartago abandoned 
Morazan, leaving him but sixty men. 



488 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

The general then held a hurried conversation with Villase- 
iior, when it was agreed that they should proceed to Cartago to 
inform their supposed friends and partisans, Mayorga, the com- 
mander of that place, and Espinac, a Spanish merchant, of what 
had occurred. This movement is represented to have been act- 
uated by pure friendship for these men, to allow them to make 
their escape with the retreating forces, and is cited as illustra- 
ting the entirely unselfish and noble disposition of Morazan. It 
was by such deeds, worthy a wider fame and more extended 
field for their enactment, that this man had won the undying 
affection of his officers. Morazan and Villasenor accordingly 
rode in advance of the troops toward Cartago, leaving General 
Cabanas in command, with orders to pursue his march with all 
speed to that place, where they would await him. 

Arriving at Cartago, Morazan rode directly to the house of 
the commandante, who held his office under him, and had in 
various ways been the recipient of his generosity, and, alighting, 
was welcomed with apparent cordiality by Mayorga. Morazan, 
knowing him to be deeply compromised in his cause, gave him 
timely warning of his danger, and a full relation of his own re- 
verse of fortune. With a perfidy singularly Spanish- Ameri- 
can, this wretch listened attentively to the narration of his con- 
fiding visitor, and, judging from the facts that the cause of his 
master was hopeless, secretly ordered out a detachment of sol- 
diers, who arrested Morazan a few steps fi:om his door ! This 
deed was partly at the instigation of Espinac, who had also 
learned the events transpiring at San Jose, both traitors lately 
professing the warmest friendship for the general, but now trust- 
ing to retrieve themselves with the revolutionary party. Espi- 
nac, however, pledged his word that the life of Morazan should 
be saved, and that his influence should be used to give him safe- 
conduct from the state. General Villasenor was arrested at the 
same moment. The prisoners were kept closely confined, and 
allowed no communication with persons outside. 

In the mean time, to perfect this tangle of treachery, a man 
named Orramuno was sent to meet Cabanas, requesting him not 
to pass with his troops through Cartago, urging in explanation, 
among other reasons, the danger of a collision between his sol- 
diers and the citizens. Cabanas, still ignorant of the treachery 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 489 

dealt upon Morazan, replied that his orders were to proceed to 
Cartago, and continued to move in that direction. But, on be- 
ing told by Orramuno that Morazan and Villaseiior had already 
left Cartago, on the road toward Matin a, a small port on the 
Atlantic coast, Cabaiias sent General Serravia in advance to 
Cartago, to ascertain the truth of Orramuno's report. 

On arriving at Cartago, the whole plot was disclosed, and 
Serravia, instead of returning to Cabaiias, who might have 
planned a rescue, enthusiastically swore to die with his beloved 
general rather than enjoy liberty without him, and, making his 
way to the house of Mayorga, he was seized and at once im- 
prisoned. 

Another messenger was now dispatched to intercept Cabanas 
with a fictitious message from Serravia, to the eifect that he had 
ridden forward to overtake Morazan on the road to Matina, and 
that the general had desired the troops should not be marched 
through the town. Cabanas pressed on toward Cartago with 
an indefinite misgiving, but not doubting the honor of Espinac 
and Mayorga. Francisco Morazan, a natural son of the gen- 
eral, rode on alone to Cartago, and, entering the town, was im- 
prisoned with Morazan and Villaseiior. 

Espinac, who was known to Cabanas as having enjoyed the 
fiill confidence of Morazan, met the troops some miles from the 
town, and, by repeating the words of his messengers, induced 
Cabanas to disband his little force, which was done on the spot. 
He then exchanged his horse and took a by-road, with several 
of his firiends, to join Morazan, as he supposed, on the road to 
Matina. On reaching the point designated and inquiring for 
the general, he learned that he had not passed there, and the full 
extent of the treachery flashed upon him. 

On the following morning he was surrounded by a party of 
Costa Ricans, at a village on the public highway, and impris- 
oned with a considerable number of the captured troops from 
San Salvador. 

During the night of the 14th the prisoners were closely guard- 
ed at Cartago. While being manacled, Serravia was taken with 
convulsions and died in the presence of his companions. This 
circumstance was seized upon by his enemies to calumniate his 
memory with the accusation of suicide by poison. The charac- 



490 EXPLOEATIONS IN HOKDUEAS. 

ter of Serravia left no room for such a suspicion, and those of 
his friends who were in Costa Eica steadily deny the statement. 
He was a young man of rare talents and acquirements, and to 
the hour of his death a devoted partisan of Morazan, to whom, 
while in Costa Eica, he had acted as secretary. It is very pos- 
sible, however, that, in his despair at the ruin and inevitable 
death of his friend, he may have been driven to self-destruction. 
But Villasefior, when approached by the guard with irons, drew 
a pistol from his breast, and was only prevented from taking his 
own life by his weapon missing fire. He was gently disarmed 
by Morazan, who still displayed the courageous and dignified 
bearing ever distinguishing him in times of difficulty. Yilla- 
senor soon afterward procured a knife, with which he stabbed 
himself in the breast, the wound not proving fatal. 

The captives now heard the yells of the crowd, who, with the 
news of the capture of Morazan, entered the town with cries of 
''''Muerte a Morazan /" but as yet the prisoners remained un- 
molested. Measures were taken to convey them to San Jose, 
where they arrived after a short march, the air filled with the 
shouts of the infuriated rabble. Morazan was mounted, but 
Villasenor, weakened by the loss of blood, was borne in a chair. 
At the entrance of the town Morazan was ordered to dismount, 
the better to grace this triumphal entry. He walked from this 
place to the prison, where he arrived at three o'clock P.M. 

Previous to his arrival, a mockery of consultation had been 
held, at which it was decreed by the self-constituted authorities 
that Morazan should die. The junta issuing this barbarous re- 
solve was composed of citizens of San Jose, as follows : Anto- 
nio Pinto, newly-created commandante general ; Luis Blanco, 
Padre Blanco, Domingo Carranza, Dr. Castillo, of infamous mem- 
ory, and two Spaniards named Benavires and Farrufio. 

Morazan was briefly notified that he had but three hours to 
live. He prepared for death with his wonted equanimity, and 
requested an interview with his friend, Sehor Montealegre, which 
was granted ; and having imparted to him his last message to 
his wife, and hastily making his will, he was hurried with ViUa- 
senor to the place of execution.* On arriving at the Plaza, he 
turned cheerfully toward Senor Montealegre, and, remembering 

* A copy of this document, in my possession, will be read with interest as the 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 491 

that it was the anniversary of Central American Independence, 
he said, " My friend, this is a glorious day on which to take 

dying sentiments of Morazan, and throwing some light upon his character and 
the circumstances of his death : 

[translation.] 

" San Joso, September 15th, 1842. 

"On the anniversary of the Independence, the integrity of which I have en- 
deavored to maintain. In the name of the Author of the Universe, in whose 
religion I die : 

" I declare that I am married, and that I leave my wife my sole testamentary 
executrix. 

" I declare that I have expended all my wife's and my own property in giving 
a government of laws to Costa Rica, and also $18,000 (dies y ocho mil pesos) 
and its interest, for which I am indebted to General Pedro Bermudes. 

" I declare that my death is unmerited ; that I have committed no fault but 
that of giving liberty to Costa Rica and jDrocuring the peace of the republic. 
My death is consequently an assassination, the more aggravated that I have been 
neither judged nor heard. I have but executed the orders of the Assembly in 
consonance with my own desires to reorganize the republic. 

"I protest that I have made the collection of troops that to-day occasions my 
death solely to defend the Department of Guanacaste, belonging to this state, 
and which, according to communications from the commander of said depart- 
ment, was menaced by the forces of Nicaragua ; that if afterward I have used a 
portion of these soldiers in the cause of the republic, I have taken simply those 
who voluntarily desired to march, for such enterprises are never undertaken 
with forced troops. 

" I declare that to assassination is added the forfeiture of the word of Espinac, 
of Cartago, that my life should be saved. 

" I declare that my love for Central America follows me to the tomb. I call 
UiX)n the youth of this country (which I leave with soitow, threatened with an- 
archy) to imitate my example, and die with firmness rather than abandon it to 
its present confusion. 

" I declare that I have no enemies, nor do I carry to the sepulchre the least 
rancor against my assassins, whom I pardon and desire all possible blessings for. 

" I die with the reflection of having caused some ills to my country, although 
with the sole desire of seeking its well-being ; and this feeling is rendered the 
more poignant from having rectified my opinions in the revolutionary career, and, 
anticipating the accomplishment of the benefits I had in view for the country 
by which to expiate those faults, I am unjustly deprived of my life. 

"The disorder in which I write, being allowed but three hours in which to 
prepare for death,* had caused me to forget that I have accounts with the house 
of Mr. M. Bennett, resulting from the mahogany cuttings on the northern coast, 
which I believe may amount to ten or twelve thousand dollars, which belong to 
my wife as compensation for the losses which she has sustained in her own prop- 
erty at the hacienda of Jupuara ; and I have also other debts known to Senor 
Losano. 

" I desire that this testament may be printed wherever the results of my death 
and public negotiations may require. Feancisco Mokazan." 

* A term afterward shortened to one hour. 



492 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

leave of one's country!" He presented his snuff-box to Mon- 
tealegre, and was placed with Villasenor in a kneeling posture. 
His request not to aim at his face was interrupted loy a volley, 
at which both the victims fell. Villasenor died without a strug- 
gle, but Morazan raised himself slightly from the ground, and 
his hat falling from his head as he did so, revealed his fine 
face convulsed in agony. He fell dead immediately after, and 
the monster Carranza, placing the hat upon his own head, strut- 
ted with insulting mien over the prostrate body. 

Such was the death of Central America's best and greatest 
man ; with him expired its last hope of nationality. He was 
shot at 4.30 P.M., on the 15th of September, 1842, the twenty- 
first anniversary of the Independence. In the small but spark- 
ling galaxy of distinguished men of those states, few have equal- 
ed Morazan in true patriotism and honesty of purpose, and none 
in genius or the versatile talents necessary for the times and 
the country. In stature tall and commanding, with a winning 
address, and of a florid, genial disposition, he seemed peculiarly 
fitted to calm the discordant elements distracting Central Amer- 
ica. Though rashly brave in the field, he was often censured 
by his partisans for injudicious clemency to the defeated. It is 
recorded of him that, amid the ruthless butcheries which have 
made the Central American wars a by-word for bloody public 
executions, he signed the death-warrant but twice while in pow- 
er. The word " executed" is studiously avoided by the Liberal 
party to this day when speaking of his death, which is always 
referred to under the harsher and more appropriate one of " mur- 
der." His untimely fate may be traced to the intrigues of de- 
signing persons, who had long feared his powerful influence in 
thwarting their schemes for self-aggrandizement at the expense 
of their country. Morazan sacrificed his life in his persevering 
attempts to restore the republic. He prophesied the speedy de- 
struction of the country under the system of petty sovereignties, 
and the subsequent history of Central America has verified his 
predictions.* 

* His hatred of the Monarchists and Guatemalan aristocracy, and inveterate 
determination to preserve the integrity of the Confederation, is evinced in his 
spirited address printed in 1839, a single passage of vs^hich is sufficient to illus- 
trate the energetic style of the author. " Ni las perlas del Golfo de Nicoya, ni 
el oro del Rio Guayape volveran a adornar la corona del Marquez de Aicenina ; 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 493 

In his eventful career, instances of rash judgment may Ibe 
pointed out, but they were errors of an over-ardent and inexpe- 
rienced man, giving promise of a maturity of lasting benefit to 
his country. Had he selected San Salvador, where he first land- 
ed on his return from South America, for the theatre of his pat- 
riotic exertions, or entered his native state of Honduras, though 
nearer to the centre of Servile power, the result might have been 
happier for himself and the Liberal cause. But under the reign 
of terror inaugurated by Carrera and his agents, it is doubtful 
if any portion of Central America was fully prepared for revo- 
lution. His flattering reception in Costa Rica and the speedy 
change in popular prejudice sufiiciently illustrate the fickleness 
of a people who were as incapable of appreciating the greatness 
of Morazan as they were unworthy to enjoy the blessings of 
political liberty. His remains were conveyed to San Salvador 
some years afterward with a guard of Costa Rican citizens, and 
interred at Sonsonate, to await the completion of a tomb and 
monument at the city of San Salvador. The work was de- 
stroyed with the city in the terrible earthquake of April, 1854, 
after which they were finally deposited, with religious ceremo- 
nies, in the church at Mejicana, near Cojutepeque. The traitor 
Espinac has never since dared to visit San Salvador for fear of 
popular vengeance, and even in Costa Rica lives in dread of the 
retribution sworn by Morazan's relatives. 

Cabanas and his friends were soon after placed on board the 
Coquimbo, the vessel which had brought Morazan from South 
America, with the understanding that they should sail at once 
for San Salvador. They remained, however, several weeks at 
Calderas, blockading the port, and making occasional excursions 
on shore in quest of provisions. These visits, which partook 
of the character of predatory excursions, gained the party the 
name of '■'■Los Coquimbos,'''' On arriving at San Salvador, they 
landed despite the edict of the government, and were cordially 
received by Malespin, who, though the most active agent in the 
overthrow of Morazan's government in 1840, had availed him- 
self of his elevation to the position of commander-in-chief to side 
with the Liberals. 

y si algun dia apariciese este simbolo horroroso de la Aristocrasia, el sera el 
bianco del soldado Eepublicano!" 



494 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CENTEAL AMERICA. 1843-57. 

The Central American States as distinct Sovereignties. — Siege of Leon. — In- 
surrections. — Attempts to reconstruct the Republic. — Trinidad Cabauas Presi- 
dent of Honduras. — The War with Guatemala. — ^Nicaragua as a Republic. — 
The Castellon and Chamorro War. — Enlistment of Americans. — ^Decline of 
the Administration of Cabanas. — Concluding Remarks. 

At the close of 1843 a temporary calm settled upon the 
states, each of which, preserving a nominal independence, main- 
tained its own government under the direction of the most prom- 
inent local chieftains. After the death of Morazan, Costa Rica 
convoked a new Congress, and soon returned to the condition 
of quiet and comparative prosperity from which it had been 
aroused by his return. San Salvador remained under the gov- 
ernment of Malespin, who from a highway robber had risen to 
the supreme power, to which he had been appointed by Car- 
rera, but afterward declaring against the Guatemalan author- 
ity. The reins of government in Honduras were held by Gen- 
eral Francisco Ferrera, who, having been elected governor in 
1841, had annually succeeded to that position until elected to 
the presidency, an office which he appears to have created for 
his own purposes. Nicaragua, in 1841, had elected as supreme 
dictator Don Pablo Buitrago. He was afterward deposed by 
General Fonseca, who changed the style of the supreme executive 
to Grand Marechal. A more disgusting and brutal tyrant never 
assumed power in Nicaragua. Guatemala, now held in the iron 
grasp of Carrera, made no attempt upon the tranquillity of the 
other states other than a descent upon San Salvador in 1844, 
headed by Jose Manuel Arce, formerly President of the repub- 
lic. This was ostensibly in revenge for the countenance given 
by Malespin to the Morizanistos in 1842. The invaders, how- 
ever, were routed and driven from the state. 

Malespin retaliated for this outrage by invading Guatemala 
shortly after with two thousand troops, and, had he followed up 
this advantage, he might possibly have made a successful stand 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 495 

against tiie Servile power. He was accompanied in this expe- 
dition by General Cabanas, a tried and courageous officer under 
Morazan, and whose character for humanity and patriotism had 
become widely known in Central America. On the inarch the 
troops declared for this general, who refused to accept a com- 
mand to the injury of his benefactor. But Malespin, enraged 
at this preference, commanded a retreat, and disbanded the troops 
the most favorable to Cabaiias. 

Carrera meantime collected an army of five thousand men, 
with which, after this retreat, he invaded San Salvador, but, 
fearful of his own power in Guatemala, he contented himself 
with taking several villages, and returned without any import- 
ant engagement between the two armies having taken place. 
The war had only the effect of impoverishing both countries. 
During these campaigns, the forces of Nicaragua, which had been 
raised with the pretended object of assisting San Salvador, pen- 
etrated into Honduras with the design of overthrowing the gov- 
ernment of Ferrera. They were met by the troops of Honduras 
at Choluteca, under the command of Santos Guardiola, and ut- 
terly routed. The energy and ferocity of this man became 
thenceforth a proverb throughout the country. 

Peace having been declared between Guatemala and San Sal- 
vador in 1844, Malespin determined to revenge himself upon 
Cabaiias for the preference shown that leader by the troops of 
San Salvador. Forewarned of this movement. Cabanas and his 
friends escaped to San Miguel, and, uniting with the proscribed 
Governor Barias, proceeded to Nicaragua, and succeeded in en- 
listing Fonseca in their cause. Information of these warlike 
preparations was conveyed to Malespin, who speedily concluded 
a treaty with Honduras ; Ferrera, who was still at the head of 
the government, readily forming an alliance against Nicaragua, 
whose forces had made so unprovoked an attack upon him in 
the preceding August. 

This expedition was mainly planned by Cabanas, whose views 
were not bounded by the immediate issue with Malespin, though 
that seemed its ostensible object. From his earliest connection 
with military affairs he had been an uncompromising supporter 
of the Federal Republic, and, nobly seconding Morazan in this 
cause, he had succeeded him at his death as the acknowledged 



496 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

leader of the Liberal or Kepublican party. He now looked for- 
ward with confidence to the overthrow of Malespin and Ferre- 
ra, and from that point an invasion of Guatemala and the re- 
establishment of the Republic. 

In October he invaded Honduras with about two thousand 
troops, but was met by Guardiola on the 1st of November, and 
repulsed with considerable loss. A few days afterward, he de- 
feated and dispersed a superior force of the enemy, but, owing 
to an entire want of discipline among his own troops, he was 
forced to retreat into Nicaragua, where he was followed by the 
combined forces of Honduras and San Salvador under Guardi- 
ola and Malespin. The invading army, amounting to three 
thousand, laid siege to Leon, now the last stronghold of the 
Liberal party and of the Morazanistos. The ancient rivalry ex- 
isting between Granada and Leon induced the inhabitants of 
the former city, with those of Managua and Rivas, to espouse 
the cause of the invaders. 

A force of three thousand was raised by these cities, and dis- 
patched to the assistance of the besieging party, thus augment- 
ed to five thousand men. These auxiliaries arrived toward the 
close of the year, and Leon was invested on all sides, but de- 
fended with the most desperate valor. Scenes of debauchery 
and terror were enacted in the city too frightful and disgusting 
to be perpetuated in history. Language fails to describe the 
horrors enacted even by the besieged themselves, who, driven to 
extreme phrensy by their sufferings, inaugurated a reign of mur- 
der and rapine in which neither age nor sex was spared. The 
previous history of the country, revolting as some of its episodes 
had been, presents no equal to the scene. Cabanas, Barias, and 
their friends, shrinking in horror from an alliance with such mon- 
sters, deserted the city in January, 1845, and left the inhabit- 
ants to their fate. 

On the following day the city was carried by assault, and 
given to butchery and plunder by the savage soldiery. The 
churches afforded no protection to the crowds of wretched fugi- 
tives, and these edifices were literally filled with mangled bodies 
of women and children, and covered with blood. Every dwell- 
ing was plundered and completely gutted excepting that of a 
British subject, Mr. Manning, in whose house the Grand Mare- 



HISTORIC^VL SICETCH. 497 

chal lay hidden for two days, but in an imprudent attempt to 
escape Avas taken by Malespin's troops and immediately put to 
death. An attempt was made by the victors to burn and to 
raze the city to the ground, which was only prevented by the 
solid and detached nature of the buildings ; but the termination 
of this carousal of blood left Leon a picture of ruin and desola- 
tion. Humanity sickens at the bare recital of such atrocities, 
the results of civil war almost without political aim, and with no 
other incentive than the love of plunder, revenge, and the grati- 
fication of the basest passions. 

The republican freeman of the North gazes with astonishment 
on a people after a quarter of a century of experimental self- 
government, commenced under the most favorable auspices, and 
with illustrious examples for guides, relapsing into a condition 
not excelled in detail of savagery by the most bestial natives of 
Africa. History scarcely affords a parallel to the picture pre- 
sented by Central America at this epoch ; every grade of rela- 
tionship arrayed in frantic hostility — father against son, brother 
against brother. Justice and humanity seemed swallowed up 
in a sickening appetite for violation, murder, and plunder. An- 
archy, in its most terrible and revolting form, reigned in the land. 

Nor can these atrocities be laid to the charge of any particu- 
lar faction, or to the ferocious commanders who directed them. 
The people themselves, irrespective of politics or party, are an- 
swerable. Neither brutal military leaders nor the acerbity of 
party warfare could alone excite enormities such as those dis- 
gracing the history of Central America, events impossible of 
occurrence except with the groundwork of a debased and bar- 
barous people. 

Cabaiias and Barias, after escaping from Leon, arrived in San 
Salvador, and, collecting an army of a thousand men in their 
march, reached San Salvador in time to head an insurrection 
already broken out against the authority of Malespin, most of 
whose adherents saved themselves by flight. Guzman was 
placed in the Presidency in January, 1845. 

The receipt of this intelligence in Nicaragua caused liie troops 
of San Salvador to desert Malespin, immediately following which 
Guardiola, with his troops, withdrew into Honduras, accompa- 
nied by Malespin, who still hoped to recover possession of San 

Ii 



498 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUKAS. 

Salvador. On the 2d of March Guardiola entered the State of 
San Salvador, and was encountered by Cabanas at Quelepa, 
between San Miguel and San Salvador. Although possessed 
of an inferior force, Guardiola gained the victcfry, and pressed 
on toward San Vicente, where another engagement occurred, in 
which both parties claimed the victory. But Cabanas having 
soon after increased his army to two thousand men, Guardiola 
was forced to retreat, which he effected in an able manner, 
eluding pursuit and plundering the towns on his road. A pe- 
riod of negotiations ensued, which only resulted in the forces 
of San Salvador, under the military command of Cabaiias, and 
those of Honduras, where Malespin had taken refuge, preparing 
anew for hostilities. Early in May Cabanas invaded Hondu- 
ras, and took possession of Comayagua on the 8th of June. He 
was forced to abandon the city a few days afterward, owing 
to a refusal of the Provisional President, Guzman, to supply 
him with a tithe of the necessary funds for the support of his 
troops. Repeated applications from Cabanas for supplies were 
replied to with recommendations from the government of San 
Salvador to feed his men by plundering the people, after the 
customary Central American plan, which Cabanas steadily re- 
fused to do. His men deserted in great numbers, though the 
inhabitants, pleased and astonished at his moderation, furnished 
him with occasional supplies. But the near approach of Guar- 
diola left him no alternative but retreat, afterward hastened into 
a flight, with a scanty remnant of his army. 

On reaching San Miguel, Cabanas was not long in ascertain- 
ing that Guzman was secretly conspiring against him, and had 
purposely refused the supplies to his army with the view of 
ruining him. Here he attempted in vain to collect his scattered 
forces to oppose the entrance of Guardiola, who was now press- 
ing toward the city, which he entered and took possession of on 
the 22d of July, Cabaiias evacuating it on the previous day. 
The brutal excesses of Guardiola had inspired the inhabitants 
with such terror that they abandoned the city before his arrival, 
and San Miguel was completely sacked by his troops. A plan 
formed for the capture of San Salvador, in conjunction with 
Honduras, was not acted upon, owing to the inability of that 
state to raise the requisite funds and troops. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 499 

Cabanas meanwhile had resigned his command in disgust, and 
Guzman, the Provisional President, being known as a coward, 
no one was found to assume the military leadership. Ferrera 
was excommunicated by the Bishop of San Salvador, as was 
also Malespin. This, however, had little effect in staying the 
disturbances ; the Coquimbos, as the old partisans of Morazan 
continued to be called, the friends of the bishop, and those of 
President Guzman, forming three distinct parties in San Salva- 
dor, who consumed the time in fruitless disputes, while Guar- 
diola and his troops ravaged the adjacent country. The nego- 
tiations for peace between the two states were at times inter- 
rupted by military excursions, characterized by the instant butch- 
ery of all prisoners, amounting in two instances to over one hun- 
dred. Between the months of October and December sever- 
al bloody engagements had occurred, and San Miguel had been 
plundered a second time by Guardiola. On the 20th of Decem- 
ber peace was concluded between San Salvador and Honduras. 

During 1844 Guatemala was the scene of two insurrections, 
both of which were suppressed. Since the dissolution of the 
Representative Assembly in 1844, Carrera had exercised the 
functions of President and military commander. On the 1st of 
January, 1845, he formally assumed the office. In February of 
this year his authority was seriously menaced by an insurrec- 
tion of the remnants of the old aristocracy and the priesthood, 
who, since the unexpected assumption of power by Carrera in 
1829, had nursed a secret hostility to his government. This 
revolt was nominally headed by General Monte Rosas ; but, 
though the cowardly behavior of Carrera and the seizure of 
nearly all the arms in the state placed him in a position to sus- 
tain himself, the timidity of those who had at first encouraged the 
insurrection prevented its consummation. After holding pos- 
session of Guatemala four days, Rosas was induced to withdraw 
for the sura of $5000. On the following day Sotero Carrera, 
brother of the President, pursued the insurgents, and attacked 
and killed a great number, who were awaiting Carrera's arrival 
to lay down their arms. On the breaking out of this revolt, Car- 
rera fled aifrighted to a distant hacienda, whence he only return- 
ed on its suppression. He inaugurated his restoration to pow- 
er by putting to death, without form of trial, ten persons sus- 



500 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

pected to have Ibeen concerned in the insurrection. A feeble, 
ill-organized plan was laid, in July of the same year, to shoot 
Carrera as he was coming out of the Cathedral, but was frus- 
trated by its early discovery. 

From this time, all attempts to dislodge this leader were aban- 
doned. The consolidation of his power inclined him to relax 
the severity of his government. Don Joaquin Duran, a talent- 
ed and liberal man, was appointed to the ministry, and the state, 
under a judicious and evenly administered rule, began to pro- 
gress in wealth and industry. The government, however, was in 
all respects that of an absolute monarchy, in which the liberty, 
prosperity, and lives of the people were at the entire dispos'al of 
Carrera. 

In San Salvador the election of President took place in the 
month of March, which resulted in the choice of Don Eugenio 
Aguilar, a man of unblemished character and known moderation. 
On the following July the Bishop of San Salvador attempted an 
insurrection against the new President, but, proving unsuccess- 
ful, he was banished from the state. During 1845 Honduras 
continued quiet, but in the following year the administration of 
Ferrera resigned their offices, and at an election, held in July, 
Senor Gaul was chosen to the presidency. Nicaragua, after the 
allied invasion of 1844-5, was reduced to a condition of stagna- 
tion and misery even below the level of the other states. In 
December, 1845, Sandoval was elected Director, but so power- 
less and impoverished was the government that it was unable 
to enforce obedience to the laws, or to repel the piratical incur- 
sions from San Salvador, made into the most populous sections 
of the state. Costa Eica remained under the rule of Rafael 
Gallegos through 1845 up to July of the following year, when 
this chief was deposed, and Jose Maria Alfaro elevated to his 
place. 

Few events of importance occurred in 1846. An unsuc- 
cessful attempt was made to reconstruct the Confederation of 
States. The convention of delegates from the various states 
was appointed to meet at Sonsonate, in San Salvador, on the 
15th of May, but on that day the representatives only of San 
Salvador and Costa Rica were present, those of Honduras and 
Nicaragua arriving some days later. The Guatemalan depu- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 501 

ties did not appear until the middle of July, and one of those 
of Costa Rica having died meanwhile, and the other refusing to 
act alone, the Convention dispersed without the accomplishment 
of their object. Another attempt was made in 1847, by calling 
a Convention of the States in Nacaome, in Honduras ; but only 
Honduras, San Salvador, and Nicaragua being represented, these 
deputies organized a Federal republic consisting of those three 
states. Being a loose and ill-constructed arrangement, this con- 
federation, known as the "Pact of Nacaome," did not go into 
effect. In 1849 these states again appointed Federal deputies, 
and agreed upon a plan of confederation, inviting the co-opera- 
tion of Guatemala and Costa Rica. In January, 1851, this body 
met in Chinandega, Nicaragua, and formally declared the "Na- 
tional Representation of Central America ;" but this, like its 
predecessors, was destined to but short duration. 

The recollection of thirty years of incessant strife has thor- 
oughly imbued the people of Costa Rica with a dread of alli- 
ances of any kind with the neighboring states. From 1846, the 
state has shown an example to her compeers of industry and 
general progress. Under the liberal and benign government of 
the Moras, its advancement has been truly encouraging. Nu- 
merous arrivals of intelligent bodies of Europeans have rapidly 
developed its resources, while the sudden growth of California 
has opened a constant market for its agricultural productions. 
It is mainly owing to its remote position from the body of the 
states, and to the energy and example of its foreign residents, 
that Costa Rica has surpassed every other part of Central Amer- 
ica in the useful arts. 

In 1848 Senor Juan Lindo was elected to the Presidency of 
Honduras and Santos Guardiola appointed Secretary of State. 
Under this administration the present Constitution was formed, 
which, though an interval of government under the Republican 
Union of the three states, as before described, intervened, has 
continued to be the standard political basis of the state. Toward 
the commencement of 1849 an attempt at insurrection, on the 
part of Guardiola, resulted in his expulsion from the state, being 
replaced in office by Seiior Jose Maria Rugame. Placing him- 
self at the head of a body of troops, Guardiola assumed a men- 
acing attitude toward the government. Prompt measures were 



502 



EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 



taken to suppress this movement, which was finally accom- 
plished without bloodshed. Guardiola, however, did not regain 
his political position in Honduras. 

Guatemala continued under the nominal presidency of Car- 
rera, and San Salvador, with few political changes, remained at 
peace with the other states. In 1850 the quadrennial presi- 
dential election in Honduras occurred, and no candidate receiv- 
ing an absolute majority of the popular vote, the names of the 
two highest candidates were submitted to the Legislature, as pro- 
vided in the Constitution of 1848. The choice fell upon Gen- 
eral Jose Trinidad Cabanas, whose character and public services 




J086 TKINIDAD CABANAS 



have been elsewhere referred to. Humane and moderate in his 
policy, a distinguished partisan of the Morazan school, and now 
recognized as the leader of the Liberal party, his election was 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 503 

celebrated tliroughout the country as a peculiarly auspicious 
event, and the surest safeguard against the threatened encroach- 
ments of Guatemala, whose aggressive tendencies were now 
watched with anxiety and alarm.* 

The most eminent of thte few remaining public men of the 
state were called to the cabinet. Salutary decrees were issued 
for the encouragement of agriculture, commerce, and mining en- 
terprises, and appropriations from the public treasury for edu- 
cational purposes were made with greater liberality than had 
been known since the Independence. The tempestuous era of 
politics seemed to have given place to a calm, from which the 
people augured a happy and prosperous future. The public 
events of importance in the years 1850-51 were confined to 
some insurrectionary attempts by Guardiola and Juan Lopez. 
Both of these factious spirits had fled to Guatemala, where they 
made constant efforts to organize a force sufficient to overturn 
the government of Cabanas. Lopez, in an unsuccessful expe- 
dition, was captured and imprisoned in the castle of Omoa, 
whence he shortly afterward effected his escape in company with 
the robber Urmansor. 

That the government of Guatemala had long entertained de- 
signs against the independence of Honduras, the avowed policy 
of Carrera and the tone of the official press sufficiently prove. 
An alliance with Mexico would have been assisted by a large 
number of influential persons in Guatemala. This course, 
though inconsistent with the jealous rule of Carrera, would have 
advanced the original object of the wealthy Guatemalan fam- 

* The life of Cabanas would form a history of active but unfortunate efforts in 
behalf of his country, but unstained by any act of injustice or cruelt}^, while his 
humanity is attested by numerous interesting anecdotes. A brief biography of 
him, given me by a gentlemah of Guatemala, states that he was born in Coma- 
yagua in October, 1802. His father was Don Jose Maria Cabanas, and his mother 
a lady of the Fiallos family, of the city of his birth. He commenced his studies 
in Comayagua, and entered the university of that city. The party divisions im- 
mediately following the Independence found him an ardent supporter of the 
Liberal or Republican cause, in which he enlisted at first as a common soldier, 
and as such sei'ved in the army of San Salvador, defending the capital of that 
state against the Imperialists under General Manuel Jose Arce, in June, 1822. 
During his many campaigns, and throughout his whole military course, observes 
his biographer, " he has never committed a murder or a personal or political ex- 
cess. His enemies themselves point to some errors of judgment, but to no viola- 
tion of the principles of honor which distinguish the brave and upright man." 



504 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

ilies, the restoration of the titled nobility, and the revival of the 
effete aristocratic institutions. Such traitorous plans were as- 
cribed to the refugees Guardiola and Lopez, who openly advo- 
cated the dependence of the provinces upon a Guatemalan vice- 
royalty. It was against this treason that Barrundia would have 
guarded in his proposed union of the States. With such views, 
Guatemala, confident in its strength and numerical superiority, 
availed itself of the first pretext to commence hostilities against 
Honduras. 

Early in 1852, numerous facciosos had collected near the 
eastern borders of Honduras, in the extreme Guatemalan De- 
partment of Chiquimula. These malcontents were composed of 
refugees from the brutality of Carrera, bands of marauding In- 
dians, and reckless outcasts of every denomination, common to 
many unfrequented sections of Central America. In one of 
their many expeditions a number of these had crossed into Hon- 
duras, and penetrated to the town of Copan, where they were lo- 
cated for some months. 

Information of this reaching the military commander of that 
district. General Zelaya, he notified the government at Coma- 
yagua of the fact, when the disaffected were promptly put down 
by the orders of Cabaiias, as an evidence to Guatemala that the 
territory of Honduras could not be made an asylum for insur- 
rectionists to carry on aggressions against the neighboring 
states. In these proceedings, in order to guard against the im- 
plication of an armed invasion of Guatemala, and to avoid the 
possibility of a misconstruction of his motives, Cabanas strictly 
restrained the forces of Honduras from advancing beyond the 
frontier, confining the operations of the troops to expelling the 
enemies of Guatemala from Honduras territory. With such 
efficiency and moderation were the military measures of Hon- 
duras characterized, that the official organ of Guatemala could 
not refrain from paying a deserved tribute to the sense of jus- 
tice and rectitude that had animated them. Cabaiias shortly 
afterward disbanded his troops, the laudable object for which 
they had been organized having been accomplished. Nothing 
had occurred to this date to interrupt the harmonious relations 
subsisting; between Guatemala and Honduras. 

In October, one of the insurrectionary movements common to 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 505 

the retired districts of Guatemala broke out in the Department 
of Chiqiiimula. The insurgents, consisting of Indians and a 
considerable body of half-breeds, attacked and plundered the 
town of Gualan, and afterward robbed and murdered the in- 
habitants of a large hacienda six leagues distant. Loaded with 
the plunder of Gualan, and having cruelly murdered the secre- 
tary of the department for refusing to deliver the keys of the 
treasury, they fled into Honduras, closely pursued by General 
Solares, with several hundred men, who succeeded in dispersing 
them. This result effected, the invaders continued their march 
to the town of Copan, in the Department of Gracias, where, 
without provocation, the most brutal excesses were perpetrated 
in alleged retaliation for an invasion of Guatemalan territory 
by General Zelaya ! Inoifensive people were murdered in the 
streets, crops destroyed, houses pillaged, and the surrounding 
country desolated by the soldiery. 

These outrages, committed in time of profound peace, aroused 
the indignation of Honduras. Official remonstrances were un- 
heeded, and after numerous ineffectual efforts to obtain redress, 
measures of retaliation were adopted by Cabanas. The govern- 
ment of Guatemala, fully anticipating this movement, prepared 
to meet the attack. It was evident that Carrera, restrained a 
while by the past few years of tranquillity, still nursing the 
hope of subjugating the adjoining states, had created this pre- 
text of war to light anew the torch of discord and murder 
throughout Central America. 

Cabanas, having collected a considerable force, marched to 
the frontier, and after lengthy negotiations succeeded, in April, 
1853, in forming a convention at Esquipulas, by commissioners 
on the part of both republics, by which Guatemala agreed to in- 
demnify the sufferers by the recent outrages, and providing for 
the liberation of prisoners and the negotiation of a treaty of 
amity at the earliest period. The signing of this treaty on the 
part of the Guatemalan commissioners was a virtual recognition 
of the injustice of the invasion by Solares and his subsequent 
career of plunder. But after months of delay, of which Carrera 
availed himself to make extensive preparations for aggressive 
purposes, Guatemala, with characteristic perfidy, suddenly an- 
nounced her refusal to abide by the terms of the convention ; 



506 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

when Cabanas, in turn, marched into that state, having heen 
invested by the Legislature with temporary absolute power to 
declare war and raise the means of prosecuting it. He occupied 
and held possession of the Department of Chiquimula, enforc- 
ing the utmost moderation among his soldiers, until a vastly 
superior force obliged him to retreat into Honduras, where he 
was followed by the enemy under General Grenados. In July 
the Guatemalan forces occupied Santa Rosa, and after wantonly 
sacking the town, re-enacting the horrors of Leon and San Mi- 
guel, retreated precipitately out of the country, as much in an- 
ticipation of attack from the desperate inhabitants as from the 
starving desolation of the district consequent upon the pillage 
and destruction waged by his followers. 

The rest of Central America, throughout the years 1852-3, 
had remained quiet spectators of the events transpiring between 
Honduras and Guatemala, the issues being, for the present, con- 
fined to those two states. Costa Rica, availing itself of the long 
period of quiet ensuing on the destruction of the Morazan party, 
had reached a degree of prosperity before unknown in its histo- 
ry. San Salvador, though preserving her bitter hatred of Car- 
rera, and strongly sympathizing with the Liberal party in Hon- 
duras, refrained from active participation in the strife. 

In Nicaragua, since 1849, the government had passed respect- 
ively through the hands of Ramierez (Supreme Director), of 
Barrundia (as President of the National Representation of Cen- 
tral America), and of Pineda (as President of the Republic). The 
death of Pineda, toward the close of 1852, revived the elements 
of discord in Nicaragua, which, however, resulted in the eleva- 
tion of the former Secretary of State, Fruto Chamorro, to the 
provisional dictatorship of the state, with an administration con- 
sisting of Rocha, Secretary of the Interior, Corral, Minister of 
War, and Francisco Castellon as Minister of Foreign Affairs. 

The biennial election for President having arrived, the two 
principal candidates offering themselves for this office were Cha- 
morro, the imbodiment of the old Servile faction with its anti- 
progressive and exclusive policy, and Castellon, a man of excel- 
lent character, enlarged views, and committed to the same line 
of liberal policy with Cabanas. He had chiefly distinguished 
himself, while Nicaraguan minister to England, by his corre- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 507 

spondence with Lord Palmerston on the subject of the Mosquito 
Protectorate, in which he triumphantly carried his case (so far 
as argument was concerned) against his lordship. The election 
resulted in favor of Chamorro, who has been accused, and prob- 
ably with justice, of using fraud and coercive measures at the 
polls. 

The administration of Chamorro commenced with numerous 
oppressive enactments, among which was' the suppression of 
the Supreme Court and the virtual assumption of the supreme 
dictatorial power. The open advocacy of Castellon of the re- 
establishraent of the republic, and the alleged discovery of let- 
ters from him to certain disaffected parties in San Salvador and 
Honduras, caused his arrest and speedy banishment. With 
a number of partisans he took refuge in Honduras, where his 
known liberal principles secured him a cordial reception by Ca- 
banas. 

The war in Honduras had meanwhile been prosecuted with a 
malignity on the part of Guatemala in conformity with the bru- 
tal character of Carrera. In addition to unceasing depredations 
along the frontier, an attack was made, in the summer of 185e3, 
upon the town and fort of Omoa, which yielded in July to the 
Guatemalan forces under Colonel Zavila, who invaded the place 
by sea. The castle surrendered under articles of capitulation 
that the artillery of the place should remain deposited in the 
keeping of Mr. Follen, U. S. Consul at Omoa, and that the Gua- 
temalan forces should evacuate the port within three days, but 
with the express stipulation that none of the artillery should be 
removed. 

In defiance of these agreements, the dismantling of the castle 
was commenced on the day preceding the evacuation, and would 
have been completed but for the protest of the XJ. S. Consul. 
Five long brass six-pounders and two ten-inch mortars were 
embarked, and conveyed through the port of Habal to Teleman 
on the Polochic River. An expedition, commanded in person 
by Carrera, and consisting of twelve hundred men, left Guate- 
mala in November, 1853, to conduct these trophies to that city. 
From Teleman they were dragged, with incredible labor, over 
mountains and across rivers, to Tactic, a distance of twenty-two 
leagues. The expedition, which was two months on the road, 



508 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

lost nearly a third of its number in this march, owing to des- 
perate assaults from "faciosos" and marauding tribes inhabit- 
ing Vera Paz. For five years that department had been deso- 
lated bj hostile and unconquerable Indians, whose depredations 
had been so inhumanly visited upon Honduras. Feeble efforts 
were made, toward the close of 1853, by San Salvador for the 
restoration of peace between the two republics, but without suc- 
cess. 

The position of Cabanas, as the principal remaining stay of 
the Liberal party after the death of Morazan, did not permit 
him to remain an inactive spectator of the events transpiring in> 
Nicaragua, where the Servile cause, secretly aided by Guatema- 
lan and European agents, had slowly acquired a dangerous 
prominence. The banishment of Castellon and the principal 
Liberals of Nicaragua had been followed by a succession of op- 
pressive measures on the part of Chamorro utterly subversive 
of the liberties of the people. Early in 1854 Cabanas furnish- 
ed his friend and partisan with a few men and a quantity of 
arms and ammunition, with which Castellon repaired to Tigre 
Island, whence the troops, under the command of General Max- 
imo Jerez, entered Nicaragua in the month of May by the port 
of Eealejo, while Castellon, passing the Play a Grande military 
establishment in disguise, joined the invaders, who were re- 
ceived with unanimous marks of favor by the people. Leon, 
Chinandega, and the adjacent towns immediately declared for 
Castellon, who was created Provisional Director of the State, 
taking the oath of office on the 11th of June. 

His discourse on this occasion was moderate in expression, 
but significant in substance. He advocated the widest toler- 
ance in all that concerns opinion, and maintained the doctrine 
that the executive should always reflect fairly the popular will. 
His liberal policy, and determination to reconstruct, if possible, 
the Federal Republic, may be inferred from the following ex- 
tract from this address : 

" My programme in all that concerns the state interiorly is 
liberty — liberty for each man to enjoy all of his natural and le- 
gal rights, to discharge his duties without interference, to enjoy 
freely the fruits of his own industry and enterprise. In all that 
concerns exterior relations, I am disposed to cultivate the best 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 509 

intelligence with all nations, and especially "with the various 
states of Central America. I am in favor of the maintenance 
of peace, and to this end, in favor of the estahlishment of a 
general union upon sound and well-understood principles." 

Chamorro was driven to his native city of Granada, where 
the Servile tendencies and the ancient jealousy of the rival city 
of Leon insured him a welcome and an almost impregnable 
stronghold. Here he fortified himself, and an irregular siege 
by thrice his own number of the Liberal or Democratic forces 
under Jerez was maintained until the early part of 1855. 

Pending these hostilities, Castellon had gained the entire pos- 
session of Nicaragua, excepting the invested city of Granada ; 
but the protracted nature of the siege, and the utter prostration 
of all branches of industry consequent upon the war, gradual- 
ly wearied and disgusted a people generally unstable in their 
political prejudices. The important towns of Managua, Ma- 
saya, and Rivas were recaptured by the Chamorro or Legiti- 
mate party in a series of bloody engagements. At this time 
Chamorro died, and his place as nominal president, or leader of 
the "Legitimistos," was assumed by Estrada, under whose rule 
the Servile power became partially re-established throughout the 
state, except in the Department Occidental, where the unaltera- 
ble Liberal politics of the people still upheld the power of Cas- 
tellon. 

A brief review of the past thirty years from this point exhib- 
its Central America torn by intestine wars, waged by various 
political aspirants for power or plunder, no fewer than four 
hundred persons having exercised the supreme power under 
the Federal or State governments, with the titles of presidents, 
governors, directors, chiefs, or officials holding position under 
them. Here it would have been well for these frantic destroy- 
ers of one of the most beautiful and fertile countries in the world 
to pause, and by a fraternal harmony to have rebuilt among 
themselves the fabric they had blindly dragged to ruins. There 
were those who, gazing fearfully abroad from amid the smoke 
of anarchical war, saw the approach of an element which, once 
invoked, would eventually dissipate the petty sectional ques- 
tions of the day for a greater and more vital issue — that of 
nationality — ^between the Latin races and that predestined pow- 



510 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

er whose advance over the fairest portions of Mexico had al- 
ready Ibegot a gloomy presentiment of extinction before the 
tread of the Anglo-Saxon ! But they failed to learn even from 
their enemies the secret of their decline or the only avenue to 
regeneration. 

Toward the close of 1854, Castellon, wearied with the fruit- 
less struggle, and alarmed at the reactionary tendencies of the 
people, sent proposals to California for the enlistment of North 
Americans in the Nicaraguan war, and in May of the following 
year, the negotiations having been completed, Colonel William 
Walker, with fifty-six followers, sailed in the brig Vesta for 
Central America, and, landing at Eealejo on the 11th of June, 
the anniversary of Castellon's inaugural address, formally en- 
listed in the Nicaraguan army. The result of the introduction 
of these auxiliaries was the speedy overthrow of the Servile 
power and the restoration of the Liberal party, Walker assum- 
ing the command of the army, and thus virtually holding the 
reins of government. Hundreds of adventurers joined the for- 
tunes of the Americans. The adjoining republics gazed with 
alarm upon this unexpected phase in their political horizon. 
Alliances were formed between the states for the extermination 
of the foreigners, and at last the party issues of the day began 
to disappear before the more momentous one of national exist- 
ence. 

From the commencement of the Castellon revolution in Nic- 
aragua, Cabanas had lent every encouragement to the Liberal 
cause in that state. Faithful to the principles he had advoca- 
ted from the earliest republican history of the country, he looked 
hopefully to the restoration of the Confederation of States, in 
his opinion the only form of government under which Central 
America could long preserve its existence. The war with Gua- 
temala was still continued, and thus, menaced from that quarter, 
he has been much blamed for his participation in the quarrels 
of Nicaragua ; but his policy was confined to one great object, 
the re-establishment of the Republic, and to him no honorable 
efibrts were unwarranted for its accomplishment. 

In the mean time, the traitors Lopez and Guardiola were med- 
itating in Guatemala an incursion against Cabanas, assisted by 
the Indian hordes they had collected in that republic. The con- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 511 

summation of their movements was retarded for some months 
by the general favor shown by the people to the administration 
of Cabanas, and the lack of funds by these conspirators. The 
war, however, was continued by predatory excursions on the 
part of both states. Hostilities were on the wane toward the 
close of 1853, and the President improved this sjaoit interval to 
give such encouragement to the commercial and industrial prog- 
ress of the state as the impoverished condition of the country 
would permit. But the war had paralyzed every branch of 
trade, and the distress thus caused was increased by the scourge 
of locusts passing in vast clouds over Central America, sweep- 
ing away, as by a conflagration, every green thing, and leaving 
famine and desolation in their path. 

Although, as a Spanish American, Cabanas was personally 
opposed, at the commencement of his administration, to the en- 
couragement of enterprises through which strangers would be 
likely to obtain a dangerous ascendency in Central America, he 
was gradually induced, by the influence of Senors Cache and 
Mejia, his ministers, to dismiss these objections. In the midst 
ef his harassing campaign in Gracias, in the month of July, he 
found time to turn his attention toward the Inter-oceanic Rail- 
way project ; and to Cabaiias should be ascribed the double 
honor of conquering his inborn prejudices against foreigners, 
and of giving the principal impulse to an enterprise likely to 
assume an importance second to none in the present age. 

Actuated by the same laudable intentions, and penetrated 
with the conviction that only through Northern industry and 
enterprise can the Spanish-American races be raised to a per- 
manent grade of prosperity, Senor Barrundia, then far advanced 
in years, and frequently referred to in this sketch as a talented 
and zealous member of the Liberal party, was dispatched to 
Washington, as the tirst diplomatic agent ever sent to the Uni- 
ted States by Honduras as a distinct power.* His death, at New 

* No worthier testimonial of the beneficent views of the government at this 
time can be asked than the accompanying translation of Barrundia's presenta- 
tion address to President Pierce, at Washington, on the 29th of May, 1854 : 

" Mr. President, I have the honor to present herewith to your excellency my 
credentials as Minister Plenipotentiai-y of Honduras near the government of the 
United States, Their object is to put me in a position to establish an intimate 
and fraternal relationship between Honduras and the American nation. The 



512 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

York, on the 6th of August of the same year, put an untimely 
end to the negotiations, and frustrated the dawning hopes of the 
Liberals. The invasion hy Guardiola, shortly after the news 
of this calamity reached Honduras, prevented the appointment 
of another envoy, a consummation since rendered the more hope- 
less by the utter overthrow of Cabanas and his party. 

peculiar circumstances of Honduras — the struggle in which she has been plunged 
by her generous efforts to re-establish the national Union and the liberty of Cen- 
tral America — efforts unfortunately frustrated — her sympathy and admiration for 
the great and free people which here presents to the world a palpable and un- 
precedented example of progress in a government purely republican, and a prac- 
tical and demonstrative refutation of the ideas of those who treat all democratic 
organizations as Utopian ; impressed with a merited appreciation of the generos- 
ity which always accompanies intelligence and power, when combined, as they 
are in the United States — all these are circumstances Avhich give gravity to the 
mission which my government has confided to me, and which looks to ends the 
most important, both for the United States and for Honduras, as well as to the 
further development of American policy. The mission with which I am charged 
is perhaps more significant than any which has yet originated in Central Amer- 
ica, and its objects are such as are seldom confided to an ordinary legation. It 
relates to the vital interests of an American people, struggling against the antag- 
onism of monarchical principles, which unfortunately, in some parts of this con- 
tinent, are seeking to change the blessings of liberty and independence for ahen 
protectorates and irresponsible dictatorships. I assure your excellency that it 
will afford me the highest satisfaction to treat in reference to these important 
matters with the eminent officers of this republic, destined by their influence and 
abilities to place the American people in harmonious relations with each other, 
and to extend their liberty and augment their prosperity. Honduras has opened 
its doors, and lent its co-operation to an enterprise of vast importance to the in- 
terests of the world — ^I refer to a free communication between the two oceans. 
She offers her commodious ports, her salubrious climate, and her great but un- 
developed resources to the aid of this undertaking, and freely offers her rich and 
fertile territory to the enterprise and industry of the American people. Hondu- 
ras should be forever the friend and sister of the United States, and she looks 
hopefully to the latter for the support of her liberty and independence. May the 
Eternal Disposer of events link together the people of both by the unalterable tie 
of interest and future mutual prosperity ! I shall experience the greatest satis- 
faction in contributing the first step to this result, and in giving to the govern- 
ment of which your excellency is the head the evidences of the earnest solici- 
tude of Honduras to establish a true and intimate fraternity with the United 
States, in such a form that both nations may have a single interest for the com- 
mon cause of liberty, and in such a manner that Honduras may proceed to de- 
velop her latent elements of prosperity, and to improve the advantages of a 
position eminently favored by Nature, without a fear of disturbance for the future, 
either from civil discord or exterior aggression. Should such a fortunate result 
be attained, Honduras will yet present, in the centre of the commercial world, 
the glorious spectacle of a free and prosperous people sustained by the generos- 
ity of the great American republic." 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 513 

Early in 1854 General Francisco Gomez, one of the bravest 
of Cabaiias's officers, was sent with eight hundred men into 
Nicaragua, to assist in supporting the Liberal cause in that 
state, the greater part of whom fell in the siege of Granada, or 
were destroyed by a malignant fever at that time decimating 
the entire population. The mountaineers of Honduras, at all 
times fearful of the " tierra caliente" of Nicaragua, were almost 
annihilated by the fatal disease. The brave Gomez was among 
its earliest victims, and in the panic created by these ravages, 
the emissaries of the opposite party were charged with poison- 
ing the springs. The few who made their escape by deserting 
returned to Honduras with a settled aversion to all future mil- 
itary expeditions. Their example was contagious, and Cabanas, 
threatened by Guatemala, found himself unable to raise the nec- 
essary troops to protect the western frontier. 

The efforts of Guardiola were now redoubled, and in Novem- 
ber he entered the Department of Gracias, where he issued proc- 
lamations to the people of Honduras denouncing the adminis- 
tration of Cabaiias, and marking his way with plunder and mur- 
der. Every exertion was made by the government to meet this 
inroad. Unwilling to adopt the customary method of forcible 
contributions, Cabanas imposed additional impositions on stamp- 
ed paper, and by other legitimate means attempted to augment 
his resources, while patriotic appeals were made in the official 
gazette for voluntary assistance from the inhabitants ; but it 
appears that the utter selfishness of the people had blighted ev- 
ery national sentiment and clipped the wings of patriotism. 

The co-operation of San Salvador, which had been confident- 
ly expected under the administration of President San Martin, 
was withheld, owing to disputes artfully nourished by Guate- 
mala relative to the supposed sale to Americans by Honduras 
of the island of Mianguerra, in the Bay of Fonseca, and belong- 
ing to San Salvador. The extraordinary liberality of Cabanas 
in encouraging foreign enterprise was also now used against 
him by his enemies with fearful efiect. Overtures were made to 
North Americans in Honduras for the enlistment of Californians 
in the Liberal cause, but unsuccessfully. 

For some months the Liberal party had watched the move- 
ments of Carrera with well-grounded alarm. Since the previous 

Kk 



514 EXPLOKATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

year, a party had arisen who openly advocated Carrera as per- 
petual president or dictator with extraordinary powers. Some 
difference existed among the departments of Guatemala as to 
the extent of these powers ; but the majority, consisting of his 
Indian adherents and those families who hoped by such a 
change to re-establish the noblesse^ were in favor of absolutism, 
and there were not wanting those who espoused an imperialty. 

On the 18th of May, 1854, it became known that the initia- 
tory steps would be taken in the city of Guatemala, and to give 
the semblance of having exerted no undue influence, Carrera re- 
tired to an estate on the Pacific coast. The municipal officers 
could not agree, but, notwithstanding this feeling, the pronun- 
ciamiento was made on the 23d, and signed by some two hundred 
Indians, some of the clergy and citizens, and by a few of the 
authorities, but not in their official capacities. The success of 
the movement was mainly attributed to Aycinena, Minister of 
State. A procession proceeded to the Cathedral, where the Tc 
Deum was sung, but the whole proceeding was regarded with 
coldness by the people. The ceremonies of inauguration oc- 
curred on the 21st of October, and the ensuing evening the 
event was celebrated with illuminations and salvos of artillery. 
As this was believed to be but the preliminary step to the es- 
tablishment of a Guatemalan empire, and the subsequent absorp- 
tion of the adjacent states, renewed efforts were made to organize 
a general movement /against the Servile power, but fruitlessly. 
The issue between Guatemala and Mexico, as to the right to 
the Department of Soconusco, forming a portion of the Isthmus 
of Tehuantepec, and seized in 1843 by Mexico, was finally set- 
tled early in this year by the cession to Mexico for $420,000, 
payable in four installments, of the entire claim of Guatemala 
to Soconusco and Chiapas. 

Late in the year, Cabanas, with his army, left Tegucigalpa, 
where the government had been located during 1854, and, pass- 
ing through Comayagua, collected his entire forces, and station- 
ed himself at Santa Rosa, in the Department of Gracias. His 
departure was the signal for active secret measures against him 
on the part of the principal Servile families in Tegucigalpa, and 
from this time may be dated the downfall of his administration. 
His term of office expiring at this time, Cabanas expressed his 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 515 

desire that the candidates for the succession should he subject- 
ed to the test of the popular vote, under tl^p provisions of the 
Constitution. To this the infamous Guardiola, who aimed at 
the supreme power, would not have assented, l\ad he even been 
a peaceful aspirant to the office, for a lifetime of barbarous mur- 
ders had rendered his name a terror and symbol of detestation 
to all Central America. Efforts were made at this time, by the 
government of San Salvador to restore peace between the two 
republics, by the appointment of Senor Maximo Soto as a com- 
missioner, but ineffectually. 

An attempt to press men from the Department of Olancho 
gave rise, about this time, to disturbances amounting to open 
rebellion. The alarming immigration of the inhabitants of that 
section toward the coast induced the government to issue a de- 
cree, prohibiting, under heavy penalties, all Olanchanos from 
leaving the department. This produced the impression that 
the law was in retaliation for the refusal to recruit the army: 
and though, in January, the authorities issued a manifesto ac- 
knowledging their allegiance, a general revolt occurred a few 
months later, in which the administration of Cabanas was de- 
nounced by a large majority of the people. 

The year 1855 found Honduras still at war with Guatemala, 
and the remaining republics making feeble exertions to restore 
the belligerents to amicable terms. Such efforts were futile, 
from the known determination of Guardiola to attain the su- 
preme power in the state. In January, Cabanas advanced 
with his forces to Sensenti, where, in connection with General 
Mille, he twice defeated detachments of the invaders, and obliged 
them to retire into Guatemala. The enemy, however, shortly 
after re-entered the country, re-enforced by Generals Lopez and 
Medina. The latter was in command of the castle of Omoa 
when surrendered to Colonel Zavala in 1853, since which he had 
been suspected by Cabanas of treachery on that occasion. His 
subsequent desertion and enlistment with the enemy verified 
the suspicion. A temporary cessation of hostilities took place 
at this juncture, President San Martin, of San Salvador, having 
acted as a mediator between the parties. To facilitate this, 
Cabaiias retired temporarily from the frontier, but the invaders 
proposing the accession of Guardiola to the presidency without 



516 



EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 




SANTOS GTJAEDIOLA. 



the ordeal of the ballot-box, the negotiations at once ceased, and 
the Guatemalan forces renewed their local reign of terror in the 
region of Ocotepeque, committing excesses which are described 
in the Gaceta Oficial of that date as "beyond description for 
their horror and enormity." 

Cabanas, however, found himself unable to cope with the daily 
increasing forces of the enemy, who, carrying terror and dismay 
in their path, extorted the supplies from the inhabitants refused 
to the milder demands of the Liberals. He was finally obliged 
to retreat into San Salvador, and the Servile government was 
again established in Honduras under Lopez. Guardiola subse- 
quently repaired to Nicaragua, and in the following September 
was defeated by Walker's troops at Virgin Bay, after which he 
returned to his native state and assumed the presidency. Se- 



HISTORICAL SIfETCH. 517 

nors Caclio and Mejia, the Ministers of Finance and State under 
Cabanas, were immediately seized and tried for " malfeasance in 
office." 

It was a few months previous to this time, as has been al- 
ready narrated, that the co-operation of North Americans was 
obtained by Castellon in the Liberal or Democratic cause in 
Nicaragua. On the establishment of the Rivas- Walker govern- 
ment in October, relying on the sympathy of these American 
auxiliaries. Cabanas visited Granada, and applied for men and 
arms to depose the usurper Guardiola. While pointing to the 
generous selt-sacrifice he had made in 1854 in support of Cas- 
tellon and the Liberal cause, he asked a substantial recognition 
of his own claims, and the assistance of the Americans to enforce 
them. 

It was not, however, in the power of the new government to 
extend such aid — its own existence but problematical, and en- 
vironed with hostile neighbors. Cabaiias, keenly alive to the 
alleged ingratitude of those in whose cause he had lost all, re- 
tired without ceremony from Granada, the determined enemy of 
the American party in Central America. The course of Guar- 
diola thenceforth has been that of an ignorant and unscrupulous 
tyrant. Imitating the policy of Carrera, but surpassing even him 
in personal brutality, he is regarded by the people as an instru- 
ment in the hands of the Guatemalan government, at all times 
prepared to sacrifice the liberties of Honduras to its demands.* 

* " He is a dark-colored mestizo, stout built, and rather corpulent, his face ex- 
pressing his fiendish temper, but well liked by the soldiers, whom he indulges 
in every way. To his habits of intoxication may be added every species of vice 
which can be named among the vicious inhabitants of Central America ; and fre- 
quently, in his drunken fits, he orders people to be shot who have in nothing 
offended him, while at all times the most trifling expression, incautiously uttered, 
is sufficient to cause the babbler to be shot without mercy. In private life he is as 
brutal as can well be imagined. In all the towns through which he passes, he 
makes a habit of calling in the best-looking women he can see, and, after subject- 
ing them to infamous treatment, he drives them forth with the most insulting 
epithets ; yet he is certainly the best and most successful general of any now ex- 
isting, and, probably, of any who have appeared in Central America. Like Ma- 
rias, the Roman leader, his brutal manners serve to terrify the enemy ; hence, 
while the arrival of Cabanas and most of the other leaders is looked upon without 
fear by the people of the contending states, the bare mention of the name of 
Guardiola is sufficie-nt to make the inhabitants fly to the woods, leaving everything 
behind them."-=— Z>un/qp's Travek in Central America, p. 237. 



518 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

There remains little to be written of the history of Central 
America. The invasion of Nicaragua hy the forces of Costa 
Rica, and the disastrous issue of that expedition ; the diplomat- 
ic relations arising between the new government of Nicaragua 
and the United States ; the elevation of Walker to the presi- 
dency, and the alliance of the states against his government, are 
events transpiring in 1856, and must hereafter be subjects of 
more detailed history. 

It will be seen that the main cause of the devastating wars 
of Central America has been the division of the states into irre- 
concilable parties, one advocating the continuance of the obso- 
lete forms of the Spanish viceroyalty and the revival of the 
extinct aristocratical institutions of the colonial period, and the 
other, emulous of the astonishing progress of the United States 
under a purely republican government, vainly attempting to 
establish a similar system, and shedding their best blood in the 
thirty years' struggle to that end. 

Of the patriotic motives of the Liberals, scarcely one among 
the few native and foreign writers upon the politics of Central 
America but pay a deserved tribute to their earnest exertions 
in behalf of their country. An English author includes in the 
Liberal party some few who had been distinguished men under 
the monarchy, the greater portion of the legal and medical pro- 
fessions, or, in other words, the elite of the University, who had 
preferred those studies to that of theology or canons, not so 
much as a means of support as because they are almost the only 
careers open to those who reject the ecclesiastical vocation. " It 
also numbered many merchants and landed proprietors, support- 
ed by a numerous body composed of the -more intelligent arti- 
sans and laborers. Their leaders were men of very decided 
democratical principles, of unquestionable ability, and, consider- 
ing the school they were brought up in, and the influence that 
surrounded them, they manifested no small amount of true pa- 
triotism and devotedness to their convictions ; though, alas ! in 
too many instances stained with venality, and even with deeds 
of oppression and blood. What they overthrew and what they 
accomplished for the state is honorable alike to their talents and 
their sentiments ; and though the limits of a sketch will scarce- 
ly admit of a due appreciation of it, a cursory view of their 



HISTOEICAL SKETCH. 519 

achievements, taking into consideration the circumstances of the 
people and of the times, will probably excite more wonder, and 
certainly merits higher praise, than the victories of Alvarado." 

Since Guardiola's usurpation of the supreme power in Hon- 
duras, the state has assumed a temporary importance abroad, 
by the arrangement of a treaty between its government and that 
of Great Britain, by which the Central American question was 
finally settled, the Bay Islands restored to the republic, and the 
British protectorate withdrawn from the Mosquito Territory. 
The communication of Seiior Alvarado, Honduras minister to 
Great Britain, announcing to his government the conclusion of 
the treaty, is dated London, September 15, 1856. The princi- 
pal feature in the Convention was the right accorded to the in- 
habitants of the Bay Islands to maintain their own municipal 
government, to be administered by legislative, executive, and 
judicial officers of their own election, trial by jury in their own 
courts, freedom of religious belief and worship, public and pri- 
vate, exemption from military service except for their own de- 
fense, and from all taxation on real or other property beyond 
such as may be imposed by their own municipality, and collect- 
ed for the treasury of the same, and to be applied to the com- 
mon benefit. 

The stipulations concerning religious freedom and trial by 
jury are thus forced on Honduras, and furnish the germs from 
which these eminently Anglo-Saxon ideas must eventually 
spread to the main land. Under the Federal republic, the at- 
tempt to introduce this gave rise to the sanguinary conflicts be- 
tween the authorities and the Indians, who then, as now, were 
incapable of appreciating its benefits. The privileges thus ac- 
corded to an integral portion of the state afford the first instance 
of the establishment in Central America of republican institu- 
tions which are not subject to overthrow at the caprice of tem- 
porary rulers. 

There seems little likelihood, however, of such advantages ex- 
tending to the main land during the administration of Guardio- 
la, who has recently caused special laws to be enacted prohibit- 
ing the entrance of foreigners into the interior country, under 
whatever consideration, and jealously excluding Americans from 
even a residence at the sea-ports. This policy, so directly op- 



520 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

posite to the progressive course of Cabanas, can only terminate 
with the revival and establishment of the old Liberal cause. 

At no period in the history of Central America has Nicara- 
gua presented a more remarkable spectacle than during the year 
1856. In that time, by an extraordinary series of events, a new 
element has been introduced, and the entire fabric of government 
under the old forms has been overturned. The events transpir- 
ing since the success of the Democratic party, aided by Ameri- 
ican auxiliaries, have passed with such startling rapidity that 
political and social results have been attained in months, which, 
under ordinary circumstances, can only occur in years. That 
Central America demands the rule of an iron hand, of a powei- 
not tyrannical, but firm, and even arbitrary, the history of the 
past thirty years sufficiently shows. Whether the country would 
be benefited to a greater extent, and the people governed more 
equitably by a native or foreign ruler, it is not difficult to say, 
particularly if the newer element carry with it the germs of civ- 
ilization and industry, names which have been fast disappearing 
in Nicaragua before the destroying wars conducted by ignorant 
and rapacious leaders. 

The government which for a year past has been struggling for 
supremacy under Anglo-Saxon auspices seems to be regarded 
as a usurpation or a revivifying element, according to the tem- 
porary partisanship or prejudices of the inhabitants. Independ- 
ent of the class which there, as in all countries, may be moved, 
by direct influenceSj in favor of any successful party, the mass 
of the natives, impoverished by a lifetime of bloodshed and ter- 
ror, ask but for a stable government, with the ability to sup- 
press factious chieftains, maintain order, and insure protection to 
life and property. These are blessings of liberty which hither- 
to, under nominal republican governments, have existed in Cen- 
tral America only as theories. The well-known German natu- 
ralist and traveler, Dr. Moritz Wagner, has remarked that, in the 
greater part of Central America, which, since its repudiation from 
Spain, has been devastated by anarchy and civil wars, people 
have now arrived at a resting-point which seems to augur a 
change for a better regulated and happier condition. From the 
table-land of Mexico to the Isthmus of Panama there prevails 
a general presentiment among the population that they will be, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 521 

probably at no very distant time, compelled, for the benefit of 
their own country, although to the ruin of the race which has 
till now governed them, to join the striped banner of the " Un- 
ion," and to follow, like satellites, in the orbit of the same planet. 

The Spanish-Americans look with a sort of painful feeling at 
this new movement, into Avhicli they are hurled by Providential 
power stronger than human resistance. They have a well-found- 
ed presentiment, which fills them with apprehension, that in this 
forced alliance with the stronger race their own weaker one must 
succumb, or will, at the best, but poorly vegetate. Nevertheless, 
every one is convinced that, by transplanting there a more en- 
ergetic race of men, these countries can not but be greatly im- 
proved. Along with the Yankees, capital, banks, commercial 
and industrial activity, immigration, rail-roads, steam-boats, and 
plank roads will simultaneously be introduced. But, at the same 
time, the Spanish- American race, in that blessed tropical region, 
where Nature bountifully supplies whatever man has need of 
for his sustenance, will also lose the privilege of indulging in 
pleasant indolence, without caring for the gigantic progress of 
neighboring civilization. * * * * * * * 

He who has rightly understood the political incapacity of 
these populations, and the helpless, forlorn condition of all the 
Spanish-American republics, to which there is but one remedy 
— a peaceful immigration of Northern men, who, by intermar- 
riage, would gradually change the character of the Southern race 
— would feel tempted to adopt, in regard to those republics, the 
awful motto which the poet of the "Divina Comedia" placed 
over the entrance to hell, " Voi che v'entrate lasciate agni spe- 
ranza.'''' One should simply advise the Spanish-Americans to 
submit, with Asiatic resignation, to their destiny. Nature itself 
seems to have refused to- those populations of mixed Indian 
blood the means of mastering by their own efforts their innate 
lethargy. 

It is a strange force, that destiny which leads nations, partly 
spontaneously, partly in spite of themselves, on the path mark- 
ed out for them — the one upward, the others downward. Ee- 
sistance is of no avail against that destiny. 

In such sentiments it is less difficult to acquiesce after a vis- 
it, especially if it has been a protracted one, to Central America, 



522 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

where a constant association with the people, and the opportuni- 
ty afforded of studying the condition of the country, enables the 
stranger to estimate the character of its inhabitants. But it is 
now south as well as west that the American people are spread- 
ing ; whether this movement is to produce, in the tropics, re- 
sults at all approximating to those displayed by emigration 
westward, is beyond the limits of prediction. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



Silver Mining in Honduras. — Mineral Districts and Mines of Tegucigalpa. — 
Methods of extracting the Metal. — The Gold Region of Olancho and Yoro. — 
Gold Mining. — Copper and other Metals. — Opals and Precious Stones. 

The Silver Mines op Tegucigalpa. — It has been justly 
claimed that Honduras is not excelled by any country in the 
world in the variety and abundance of her mineral treasures. 
The testimony of authors through the last half century, not to 
speak of the accounts of the early Spanish writers, maybe cited 
in proof of the value of the mineral deposits of this portion of 
Central America. Honduras is eminently a country in which 
the extraction of metals from the soil is to continue, as it has 
been, the chief source of wealth to its inhabitants, and to the 
seductive mining enterprises constantly offering in its broad ex- 
tent may be traced the real cause of its decay; for the frequent 
inducements held out in 6very direction to work silver mines, 
without the necessary capital and knowledge of the business 
necessary for success, has, to a certain extent, assisted by the 
political confusion since the Independence, diverted the people 
from the steadier pursuits of agriculture. 

Under the rule of Spain, silver mines were opened and worked 
according to the best methods then known ; vast sums, as in 
Mexico and Peru, were realized, but involving the use of large 
capital. With the departure of the wealthy Spanish families 
after the Revolution, the mining interest declined, and was but 
feebly prosecuted thenceforth, except in some rare instances 
where foreign capital was invested. 

But the departure of the prosperous days of silver mining did 
not discourage those who had witnessed or received traditionary 



THE SILVER MINES. 523 

accounts of their richness from attempting to renew them ; and 
to the present day the country is filled with needy mining ad- 
venturers, known as '-'' envpresarios^'''' but generally lacking the 
energy and capital to prosecute the business. The mines re- 
maining in the possession of the descendants of the old propri- 
etors are occasionally worked, and in some instances with great 
profit; but, as a general rule, their prodactiveness can not be de- 
pended upon, unless under the direction of foreigners. 

The ores are of numerous descriptions, varying with the lo- 
cality and formation of the countyy. Threads of pure silver 
have often been discovered, but the minerals are mostly carbon- 
ates and sulphurets of iron, silver, and zinc, and oxydes of iron, 
manganese, and antimony. There are occasional chlorides of 
silver and numerous other substances, presenting the varieties 
of black, gray, and red ores, the latter resembling extremely solid 
ferruginous rock, and resisting all attempts of the natives to 
work them ; but most of the ores are easily wrought. The sil- 
ver region of the Department of Tegucigalpa has been already 
partially described in my narrative. A more particular account 
of these mines, and of the native methods of working them, is 
perhaps necessary to illustrate the subject. 

The Department of Tegucigalpa, which is one of seven com- 
prising the State of Honduras, has been divided among miners 
into ten "mxViera^es," or mineral sections, known as the locali- 
ties of silver, gold, or copper mines. These are reckoned as fol- 
lows: Barajana, Minas de Plata, San Juan de Cantaranos, Guas- 
caran, Plomo, Yillanueva, Santa Lucia, Yuscaran, Cedros, and 
San Antonio. These I have indicated on my map of Eastern 
Honduras. There are, in addition, numerous isolated instances 
of copper and iron mines. Each of these districts has its con- 
stellation of silver mines, famous for their ancient productive- 
ness, and which may be described under the head of the various 
" miner ales.'''' 

La Mineral de Baeajana. — La Corona Alhay^da, an an- 
cient silver mine, but deserted some years before the Revolution, 
since which it has not been worked, and could be reopened with 
little expense. La Barajana. — Deserted some years since : 
was formerly famous for its productiveness. There are numer- 
ous evidences in this vicinity of ancient workings, and the re- 



524 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

mains of old roads, constructed apparently at great expense, 
may yet be seen, though nearly overgrown with trees. 

La Mineeal de las Minas de Plata. — The names of the 
mines in this district I was unable to obtain. They were worked 
up to 1820, when they were allowed to fall to ruins for want of 
laborers. Some of these mines are known to be rich, and are 
yet the resort of the straggling "gleaners" elsewhere described. 

La Mineeal de San Juan de Cantaeanos. — These mines 
are situated on high land, and the district has been subdivided 
into the " mineralei'' of San Juan and San Juanito, the latter 
situated on the high land, and the former along the valley of the 
San Juan mountains. The ore yields both silver and gold. 
Several mines at this place, filled with water and stones, are re- 
puted rich. 

La Mineeal de las Minas de Oeo. — This district is sit- 
uated toward the extreme northern point of the department, but 
is included in that of Comayagua. The ore yields gold and 
copper, but no silver. Placer washings have also been discov- 
ered here, whence its appellation.* The operations have been 
confined to the little creek taking its name from the mines, and 
no attempts have been made to explore the ground beyond or to 
introduce machinery. The copper mines at this place were once 
extensively worked; the ore contains a small percentage of gold. 
The copper formerly coined at the Mint of Tegucigalpa was 
brought from this locality, giving rise to the supposition that 
the coin contained a considerable proportion of gold. There are 
all the facilities here for the labor of a large company. 

La Mineeal de Guascaean. — The names of the mines of 
this district are not to be found, excepting that OiiLa Guascaran^ 
which is still worked by ox power, and yields a handsome return. 

La Mineeal de Plomo. — This district is situated to the 
southward of Tegucigalpa, between that city and Guascaran. 
Its ores are an argentiferous galena, from which it derives its 
name. There is a peculiarity in this mineral known to no other 
but that of San Antonio. The veins are said to run like those 



* El muy pequeiTa con el nombre de Minas de Oro donde exists una Aldea 
que parte de sus habitantes en ciertas epocas del ano se dedican a lavar el oro de 
sus arroyos en muy pequeSa escala, y por un sistema muy atrazado." — Golpe d"- 
Vista sobre Honduras. 



THE SILVER MINES. 525 

of some coal mines, in flat, horizontal layers, compressed be- 
tween the " majisiral,''' ox formation, or strata, which preserves, 
in every instance, a similar dip and inclination. A shaft sunk 
in any part of this district to a distance of fifteen yards, strikes 
some part of one of these veins, which are large and easily 
worked. The difficulty of separating the silver from the ore is 
now alleged to be the only reason why these mines are not 
worked. Assays are said to have yielded 18.77 per cent., but 
every attempt at smelting has resulted in loss, owing, as it is 
believed, to certain unexplained properties in the ore, which re- 
sist the usual processes. One of the richest mines here was 
La Miiia de Plomo, owned by the Duron family. It had once 
the reputation of being the most productive in the state. 

La Mineral de Villanueva. — Previous to the Revolution 
this district produced immense sums of silver. Its ores are 
sulphurets of iron, of a deep red hue, resembling cinnabar. 
Among its most celebrated mines are that oi La Pena, owned by 
Senor Lardizabal of Tegucigalpa, Lm Culehre, and Lm Zopilote, 
or Buzzard Mine, which, though now filled with stones and 
water, is asserted to have been yielding in an extraordinary 
manner at the time of its desertion. A few thousand dollars is 
represented as being sufficient to restore it to its former condi- 
tion. There are many mines here with evidences of great antiq- 
uity. 

La Mineral de Santa Lucia. — This district, which I ex- 
amined more carefully than any of the others, has been else- 
where described at length. Not less than two hundred mines 
are said to have been worked at this place during the last three 
centuries. In Tegucigalpa it is regarded as the richest deposit 
of silver in the state. Only four are now worked. The most 
celebrated in the annals of the place are those oi Lm Gatal, San 
Martin, Za Mina Grande, La Mina de los Ninos, El Cristo, 
La Cangreja, diudi La Mina JEncaitada. The specimens brought 
by myself from these mines and those of Villanueva were as- 
sayed by Dr. Hewston, an eminent chemist of San Francisco, 
with the results given below.* 

" San Francisco, California, June 20th, 1S55. 
" I have carefully assayed eight samples of ore from the silver mines of Hon- 
duras collected by Mr. Wells. The following are the results : 



526 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

La Mineeal de Yuscaean. — No district in the department 
is so well known to foreigners, or now enjoys so wide a rep- 
utation as this. It has been the field of operations of numer- 
ous companies, some of whom have amassed large fortunes. 
The town of Yuscaran is its centre. Some twelve mines are 
now worked or have been opened within ten years. The mines 
most noted in its history are Las Guayabillas, or " Guavas,"" 
the extraordinary productiveness and history of which I have 
referred to in my narrative. Jms Iguanas has, in many respects, 
a similar history, and, though well known to be rich, is now de- 
serted and in ruins. El Capero^ situated near the town of Yus- 
caran : it is very ancient, and has been recently opened and suc- 
cessfully worked by Sefiors Uncal and Ferrari, of Tegucigalpa. 
Las Quemasones, owned by a company of natives, who work it 
very successfully with rude machinery. La Malacate (or Wind- 
lass Mine), formerly worked with great profit by a native com- 
pany. La Suyatal (or Palm Plant) : the ore of this mine yields 
a percentage of gold ; it is now owned by Senor Funes, of Yus- 
caran, who only works it sufficiently to retain the title under the 
provisions of the "- Ordinamas de la Mineria,'" or Mining Ordi- 
nances, which have descended without alteration from the days 
of the Spaniards. El Montserrat, though once yielding large- 
ly, is not now worked : it is owned by an English gentleman 
named CoUyer, who is married to a lady of Tegucigalpa. El 

Contains pure Silver v^iino 
Samples marked, pgy rp^^ value. 

1. Veta principal from Mina de Gatal | ^^ ^^_ ^^ ^^^^^_ ^^ 

Santa Lucia, Tegucigalpa. ) 

2. Ore from La Mina Cangreja. ) ^j a ^g u 53 §5 

Mineral de Santa Lucia, Tegucigalpa. ) 

3. Average specimen of red ore from the Mina| gg ^^ gj <t 22 75 
Pena. Villanueva. i 

4. La Mina Encaitada. Santa Lucia. 35 " 19 " 46 48 
6. Mina de San Martin. Santa Lucia. 169 " 1 " 218 58 

6. La Mina Grande. Santa Lucia. 26 " 19 " 34 85 

7. Specimens from upper or northern portion-^ 

of the vein of La Mina Grande. )- 84 " 2\ " 108 77 

Santa Lucia (or No. 1). ) 

8. Veta Azul, Gatal. 13" 18 " 17 97 
The samples of placer gold assayed 910 fine, value $18 81 per ounce. 

EespectfuUy, John Hewston, Jk., 

Practical chemist, and late melter and refiner at the U. S. Branch Mint, 
San Francisco. 



THE SILVER MINES. 527 

Rohles, owned by the Arjenal family, was formerly immensely 
productive, but is not worked at present. La Mina de liivas, 
said to be rich, has been abandoned for want of capital. £1 
GorjptLS^ an ancient mine, whose incredible riches caused a doubt 
of the reality of the metal, is believed to have been situated in 
this district. The ores throughout this locality yield a small 
percentage of gold. 

La Mineral de Cedeos. — This is reputed one of the rich- 
est in the department. It is situated two days' journey to the 
northward of Tegucigalpa. Its ores contain silver without a 
mixture of any other metal. Among its most noted mines are 
La Yeta AbuI, owned by the heirs of Seiior Gardela, and is the 
subject of very startling representations ; La Yeta Dura, owned 
by Mr. Tregoning, of Cedros, is now worked with moderate suc- 
cess. 

La Mineral de San Antonio. — The veins in this district, 
like those of El Plomo, are flat, horizontal layers, running for 
the most part from north to south, there being secondary and 
tertiary strata of ore at a distance of twelve or fifteen yards 
apart. The district is small, but probably oifers the best facil- 
ities for foreign enterprise. The ores are sulphurets of antimo- 
ny and lead. As in El Plomo, they have hitherto resisted the 
efforts of the natives to extract the silver profitably, a very large 
percentage of the metal being lost in the smelting process, 
against which the limited knowledge of chemistry has been un- 
able to provide. None of the methods now in use, it is believed, 
can be applied economically to the ore from these mines. The 
richest of these mines was that of Mairena, named after its 
proprietor, and of whom there yet exist extraordinary legends. 
He is said to have built from the proceeds of this mine the 
church at San Antonio, one of the most costly in the state. It 
is stated that the ores were of such richness, that although, by 
the rude methods then used for the extraction of the silver, 
one third was lost, the opulent proprietor was accustomed, on 
dias de fiesta, to throw handfuls of silver pieces among the 
crowd. Los Metalones, a celebrated silver mine, owned by the 
Xetruc family, is now only sufficiently wrought to retain the le- 
gal proprietory right. La Mina de Confita has also enjoyed 
a wide celebrity. This " TnineraV contains above thirty mines, 



528 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

and, though less than a quarter smaller in extent than any other 
in the department, is counted by many to be the most valuable.* 

A description of a '•'■ jpatio,'''' or establishment for extracting 
silver from the ore, will serve to illustrate the crude methods 
purs.ued by the natives. It should be borne in mind, however, 
that the most primitive process is that most generally used. 
The establishment of Seiior Ferrari, at El Chimbo, is regarded 
as a wonder of ingenuity, and probably the most extensive and 
complicated in the department, excepting that of Captain Moore. 

The " maquina," or mill, at El Chimbo, is used for crushing 
and grinding the ores, as an improvement on the ox-power ma- 
chines, or still ruder pounding between stones, pursued by the 
poorer classes. The works are carried by the waters of the 
River Chiquito, rising in the neighboring mountains of San Juan, 
and discharging into the River Grande at the bridge of Teguci- 
galpa. The buildings, four in number, are adobes in good re- 
pair ; one, forty by sixty, being used as a receptacle or store- 
house for the ores, which are brought by mules a distance of 
five miles, from the mines of Santa Lucia ; another, twenty by 
sixteen, covers the machinery ; a third, twenty-four by eighteen, 
is furnished with a series of ovens, also of adobe, in which the 
baking or smelting process is performed ; the fourth, which has 
before it an extensive inclosure, in which the amalgamation is 
conducted, serves as a residence for the overseer and workmen, 
and has attached to it an office for assaying and retorting, and 
is supplied with a variety of rude appliances for smelting and 
other purposes. 

The mill consists of a large horizontal water-wheel, carried by 
a stream let into it by means of a wooden flume or spout. This 
wheel sets in motion a perpendicular shaft, passing through its 
centre into a lower apartment, built of rough masonry, the floor 

* Dunlop, in referring to the silver region, of which the city of Tegucigalpa is 
the centre, says : "All the hills in the neighborhood possess mines of gold and 
silver, the two metals being most generally mixed together. * * * The natives 
of Tegucigalpa are among the best class of people in Central America, and as, 
from the most authentic statements I have heen able to collect, its neighborhood 
wouid appear to possess natural stores of the precious metals even exceeding 
those of the celebrated mines of Potosi, in Bolivia, it would appear a very good 
speculation for a scientific and practical miner, supported with sufficient capital, 
to attempt their working ; perhaps the best adventure now to be found in Central 
America." 



THE SILVER MINES. 529 

forming a circular stone trough, into which the ore, which has 
previously been pounded by hand to the size of pebble-stones, 
is thrown. A certain amount of water, fed from the stream 
above, is preserved in this circular receptacle, around which, at- 
tached by chains to a horizontal bar passing through the shaft, 
two rocks, weighing half a ton each, are constantly dragged by 
the power communicated from the wheel : the friction of these 
rocks gradually reduces the ore to a paste. About two tons 
can be thus crushed in a day ; but, owing to the slow motions 
of the miners at Gatal and San Martin, only half that amount is 
worked. There are also several styles of still ruder machines. 

As the ore becomes thoroughly pulverized and mixed, it 
passes through a series of sieves, and discharges by a wooden 
spout into a large vat, or stone dock of masonry, capable of 
holding three thousand gallons. "When this becomes filled with 
the liquid paste from the mill, it is allowed to settle, and the water 
slowly drawn off by stoppers. The ore is then made into heaps 
or cakes called Tnontones, of about one cwt. each, and mixed 
with salt, as it is said, to facilitate the amalgamation, but prob- 
ably to detach the sulphur. At certain indications this is placed 
in troughs, and stamped and kneaded with quicksilver until the 
amalgamation is supposed to be complete. The whole is then 
submitted to the baking or retorting process. I was informed 
by the proprietor that the weight of pure silver thus extracted 
was found to be exactly that of the quicksilver lost in the oper- 
ation. This has the local name of "^^ Patio,'''' from the ore be- 
ing prepared in the large level yard or inclosure thus named. 

Another method is that of the barrel, common in Germany, 
and doubtless the most economical and efficient known. The 
machinery for this is in good repair at El Chimbo, but total ig- 
norance of the process, and an idea that more quicksilver is thus 
wasted, has caused it to be disused. It is known as "Zos Sar- 
illos.'''' ^'•El Fundicion,'''' or the smelting, is the commonest 
method. The small pieces of ore, in its native state, are thrown 
into the heated ovens from an aperture at the top. The silver 
separates itself from the lead, of which the ore contains a consid- 
erable percentage, and forms itself in a mass at the bottom of the 
oven. This is the most frequently used with those ores contain- 
ing lead and silver. '•^El Queinai\'' which is here known as a 

Ll 



530 EXPLOKATIONS IN HOKDUEAS. 

distinct process, difFers little from the above. The ore is re- 
duced to a state of fusion, and all foreign substances skimmed 
off with long-handled ladles, an operation demanding great skill, 
and only performed by the most experienced hands. There is 
still another method, which is called ^'■El Bano,''' the bath, which 
not having witnessed, I am unable to describe. 

Quicksilver has been principally brought from Europe in 
German and English vessels to La Union, and, though exempt 
from duty in most of the states, commands an exorbitant price. 
Small quantities are now reaching Central America from Cali- 
fornia. It is not difficult to perceive that very meagre returns 
should be realized from these crude methods of extracting sil- 
ver. A very large percentage is wasted or lost by ignorance of 
the proper modes, while the lethargy of the people prevents the 
speedier development of the mines. To have acquired and to 
possess a good estate is the fortune of the Spaniard and of his 
descendants ; not to know how to draw from it a good revenue 
is his fault and his evil destiny. There is not a department in 
Honduras that does not contain numbers of rich silver mines, 
and those that have been legally claimed or "denounced" 
amount in the aggregate to thousands. The new mine of 
Coloal, in the Department of Gracias, has yielded treasures al- 
most equaling the early days of the Spaniards, when multitudes 
of Indian slaves extracted, under the crudest tortures, the treas- 
ures which are now only drowsily sought by their degenerate 
descendants. Honduras may be truly termed a store-house of 
silver. Its hills teem with mines, which require but the hand 
of industry to develop their hidden riches. 

The Gold Placers of Olancho and Yoeo. — The extent 
and availability of the gold-quartz veins and placers of Eastern 
Honduras I have already considered at length. It is impossi- 
ble to pass through the state without being constantly remind- 
ed of the gold regions of Olancho. The Spanish historians 
knew of the Guayape as early as 1524. It was among the ear- 
liest portions of the interior continent explored by the conquer- 
ors. Herrera and Bernal Diaz refer particularly to its golden 
treasures.* Juarros notes Olancho as " memorable for the im- 

* "A spacious plain called Ulancho, ill seated near the River Guayape, whence 
much gold has been taken." — Herrera, book iv., c. iv. 



THE GOLD REGION. 531 

mense riches that have been collected from the River Guayape, 
that flows through it ; and even now (he writes in 1809) the 
finest gold produced in the kingdom is to be found in its sands." 
He further adds : " Honduras contains more gold and silver 
mines than all the rest of the kingdom of Guatemala." 

Conder refers to the gold of the Guayape in his history of 
Guatemala; Dunn alludes to Olancho, "famous for the quanti- 
ty of fine gold which is said to have been collected in the sands 
of the River Guayape in its course through the valley ;" Byam 
devotes several pages to a description of the placer washings of 
this part of Central America ; Dunlop tells us (page 281) that 
pieces of gold weighing as much as five or six pounds have oc- 
casionally been found ; Squier does not hesitate to compare the 
gold washings of Olancho and Yoro with those of California; 
later visitors have brought away with them the glittering tokens 
of its wealth, and preparations are now being made to subject 
the mines to the test of machinery. The second annual mes- 
sage of President Arce to the Federal Legislature, in 1826, makes 
mention of an English company who had applied for the privi- 
lege of mining on the Guayape. The object of the English 
settlements at Black River has been traced in Olancho to the 
vague accounts circulated of the existence of a gold region in the 
far interior. Pamphlets and newspaper articles have occasion- 
ally appeared in Central America on the subject, and native 
companies have more than once been formed, but without prac- 
tical experiment, to work the Olancho mines. 

Other sources could be quoted to show the antiquity of the 
gold discoveries in this region. For more than three centuries 
the Guayape and its tributaries have yielded their annual treas- 
ures to the gold-seekers of successive generations ; and that the 
aborigines had long known the uses of gold may be inferred 
from the ornaments worn by the natives of Honduras when Co- 
lumbus first visited its shores. It may be supposed that these 
ornaments were taken with little labor from the surface, as was 
done in the earlier days of California. The more modern oper^ 
ations have been mainly confined to delving in the sand with 
sticks by a simple and ignorant Indian population. What may 

" Much gold has been drawn out of the River Guayape, that flows through its 
territory (Olancho)." — Herrera, hook Ti., c. i. 



532 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

be contained in the depths below, or would result from a sys- 
tematic mining organization, is yet conjectural. 

I have endeavored to establish the fact that gold mines of 
real value exist ; that they are easily accessible from the United 
States ; that, with proper machinery, in the hands of energetic 
men, they can be profitably wrought, and that the climate is 
such as will admit of foreigners laboring in the interior of Olan- 
cho. If it is to be believed that Americans will locate where 
gold is to be had for a reasonable equivalent of work, the natu- 
ral price of all real success, there seems little doubt of the future 
importance of Honduras to the world. 

But the auriferous deposits of Honduras, though centring in 
the Guayape district, are not confined to that locality. Early 
in 1856, companies of Americans started for Olancho from vari- 
ous parts of the United States. Among these was an associa- 
tion sailing from Mobile, known as the "Honduras Colonization 
Society," whose objects were permanent settlement in the gold 
region of the Guayape. They landed in May at Truxillo, and 
proceeded toward the interior. 

A merchant of Truxillo, writing from that place, speaks of 
the arrival of this party and their departure for the interior, 
and forwards a letter from the secretary of the company dated 
July 1st. " Three of our party," says the writer, "went up the 
coast about thirty miles, and returned on the 20th ultimo, bring- 
ing some very fine gold, which they washed out themselves from 
earth taken from the surface, which, they say, yields from five to 
fifteen cents to the pan, but do not consider it worth our while 
to locate there, as we had made our calculations for Olancho, 
where we expect to do better. The natives are getting excited 
on the subject of gold hunting, and are now flocking to the place 
of which I have just spoken, known as the Rio Lucinda. I hear 
that several specimens have been taken out weighing from one 
to two ounces, but to what extent the precious metal abounds 
we have not yet been advised." 

The river referred to is doubtless the Papaloteca, discharging 
into the Caribbean Sea opposite the island of Ruatan. A cor- 
respondent from Balize, under the date of July 12th of the same 
year, describes this gold as of a " very fine quality, similar to 
that found in the southern mines of California, commonly called 



THE GOLD EEGION. 533 

shot gold; pieces weighing an ounce and upward have been 
taken out, and all who work there are doing well. The labor 
is done in the rudest way, without the aid of art, wit, or sci- 
ence ; yet the old women here are averaging one dollar a day, 
while some of the men are earning from eight to eighteen dol- 
lars daily." 

Still another correspondent from TruxiUo adds his testimony 
to the discoveries made by the prying ingenuity of foreign explor- 
ers. This writer says, "That great metallic enchanter is being 
found in new places, easy of access and near the coast. About fif- 
teen leagues west of us, in the direction of Omoa, there have been 
discovered leads of gold, loose and in quartz, in such abundance 
that several persons, without other materials than hammers and 
basins, have averaged two ounces a day. The gold is found in 
a mountain ridge, running parallel to the coast and in view, fill- 
ing the beds and ledges of several streams which flow to the sea. 
It must soon be denominated the gold coast of Honduras." 

These gold deposits were passed subsequently by Dr. J. C. 
Tucker, United States Commercial Agent to Honduras, on his 
return from Comayagua. The Papaloteca, he informs me, is not 
navigable, having a shallow bar, and the inland navigation being 
obstructed with rocky barriers. A number of Carib women 
and negroes were engaged in working the mines, using the 
rudest materials. Some of them were meeting with surprising 
good fortune. None who worked made less than four dollars a 
day, and several had dug from two to four ounces daily. The 
gold was coarse, exceedingly pure, and doubtless of a similar 
quality with that assayed for me in San Francisco by Dr. Hews- 
ton, which proved 910 fine, equal to $18.81 per ounce. 

From these facts it may be deduced that not only the valley 
of the Guayape and adjacent rivers contain gold, but the entire 
eastern and northern slopes of the Cordilleras, and the streams 
having their source in these mountains, are gold-bearing, and 
capable of greatly augmenting the golden current which for ten 
years has been pouring firom California into the United States. 
But, for reasons elsewhere explained, it appears that the same 
race which has neglected these precious gifts of nature for the 
more congenial task of self-destruction, will continue to pass 
heedlessly over them until, under some such policy as was ad- 



534 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

vocated in 1854 by the far-seeing Barrundia, a more thrifty and 
industrious people shall lead the way to their development. 

One of the most interesting facts connected with the gradual 
development of the gold mines of California is the inventive gen- 
ius which has been called into action in the construction of min- 
ing machinery. The great majority of these have proved utter 
failures, owing to their inapplicability to the purposes intended. 
A collection of them would form a museum of intricate sifters, 
wheels, and ponderous iron work. Years of experiment have 
shown that the simplest form of gold mining machinery, based 
upon scientific principles, is the most economical and enduring. 
From the common "prospecting" pan through the grades of 
"rocker" and "long-Tom," the placer miner has at last settled 
permanently upon the admirable method combining all the ad- 
vantages of the others, and known as "hydraulic" or "hill 
mining," a process commenced within four years, and which, 
with its system of canals interlacing the gold region, employs a 
majority of the entire mining population of the state. This 
method could doubtless be introduced with success into Olan- 
cho, where the fineness of the gold, ill adapted to the pan or 
rocker, and resembling that of the South Yuba gold region of 
California, could be made highly remunerative if worked with 
American energy. 

Though large nuggets have been found in Olancho within a 
few years, the gold, which is pretty evenly distributed along 
the river bottoms, is generally extremely fine, except where ed- 
dies in the rivers have collected coarser grains in the crevices 
of the rocks. For this reason I should discourage American 
miners from depending solely upon the rocker, by which the 
quantity of earth to be washed being limited, the average re- 
turns would probably not equal those of ordinary placers in 
California. The " hydraulic mining" is the best, and perhaps 
the only reliable method for Honduras. 

The similarity between the topography of Olancho and many 
parts of California, the remarkable uniformity of the gold depos- 
its throughout the bottoms and river beds, the quality of the 
gold, the salubrity of the climate, and particularly the abund- 
ance of available mountain streams, seem to point out Olancho 
as peculiarly adapted to the successful operation of hydraulic 



THE GOLD EEGION. 635 

mining. Whether the returns would at all equal those realized 
from the mines of California the future must decide. From my 
own observation, and the facts I was able to obtain from others, 
there appears no reason why a systematic mining, pursued on 
the plans above referred to, should not yield remunerative re- 
turns. 

Spanish- America contains many '■'■El Dorados^'' awaiting the 
advent of adventurous miners. Olancho is no isolated instance. 
Bolivia boasts its Matto Grosso, Peru its Napo, Guatemala its 
Polochic River, and New Granada its Antioquia, but in none of 
these are such facilities presented for foreign enterprise as in 
Honduras. Gardiner's and other crushers could be advantage- 
ously used in many of the auriferous quartz veins in Olancho 
and Segovia, where the arrastre or trapiche, the rudest of min- 
ing machinery, is now used with limited success. 

While at Tegucigalpa I was presented with a little book, 
written by Seiior Jacobo Bernadis, of Truxillo, entitled "Golpe 
de Yista sobre Honduras : considerado en sus relaciones Fisicas 
y Geograiicas, seguido de un comunicado, sobre la riqueza de 
Olancho y Yoro." In relation to these two departments, the 
author says : " The rivers Guayape and Jalan, passing through 
numerous placers, carry with them an abundant golden treas- 
ure. These two rivers unite in the vicinity of Jutecalpa, the 
capital of Olancho, and, following a tortuous course, receiving 
several tributary streams, discharge on the north coast of Hon- 
duras, where the river assumes the name of Patook or Patuka. 
The bar of the Patook has from three to five feet of water in 
the summer, and from nine to eleven in the winter. From this 
point up to its confluence with the Wampu it has from four to 
five, and thence passing certain rapids, denominated '■ chijiones,^ 
owing to the rocks skirting their banks, there are found from 
four to four and a half feet up to its junction with the Guayam- 
bre. Leaving this to the left, it may be navigated with three 
and a half and four feet as far as the confluence of the Guayape 
and Jalan, without the slightest risk or obstacle, to within one 
league of Jutecalpa. Following the course of the Guayape, it 
may be navigated with a depth of three and three and a half feet 
to the point or place known as Aleman. Thence up to its head- 
waters are found gold placers, known there as pintas, as distin- 



536 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

guished from '•vetas,'' or veins, which are found at all points 
with very little trouble. But the greater part of these placers 
have remained unexplored, as they require a more industrious 
and intelligent population to develop them, as well as to organ- 
ize formal enterprises, such as Hondurenos by themselves are 
incapable of doing. 

" Leaving Jutecalpa in a north and northeast direction, and 
crossing the department toward Yocon, in a territory equal to 
thirty leagues of longitude by ten of latitude, there is not a riv- 
ulet, however insignificant, that does not contain gold in its bed 
or banks. Most of these, guided by the formation of the sier- 
ras, discharge into the Guayape and Jalan ; and others, includ- 
ing the Silaca and Mangulile, into the Mirajoco, which thence, 
taking the name of Yaguale, and fertilizing part of the valley of 
Olanchito, empties into the picturesque Roman or Aguan, which 
fells into the Caribbean Sea sixteen miles east of Truxillo. The 
larger rivers receive their deposits of gold from the sudden fresh- 
-ets in the mountain tributaries, fed by the canons and stream- 
lets above. The gold of the rivers Guayape, Jalan, Mangulile, 
Sulaco, Caimito, Pacaya, and Yaguale, is well known, and that 
of the two first and two last mentioned may be considered of 
the very finest quality [clase coronario).''^ 

The above extract is an evidence that the people of Hondu- 
ras are aware of the treasures concealed in their soil, though in- 
capable of turning them to practical account. This ceases to 
excite surprise when we remember that the same race inhabit- 
ing California many years previous to the American conquest 
remained in apathetic ignorance of the gold deposits of their 
country. 

Copper, Ieon, Antimony, Cinnabae. — The baser metals 
abound in various parts of Honduras. Copper is found in 
large and inexhaustible veins, and often in a state of extreme 
purity. The hill of El Chimbo, near Tegucigalpa, has been al- 
ready described. Copper is found quite to the northern coast 
of Yoro, whence some very rich specimens of ore have been re- 
cently sent me, taken, as I was informed, from the vicinity of 
Truxillo. These are similar to the specimens sent from Cuba 
to the United States for smelting. The ores seen by Byam are 
described as almost always combined with sulphur, or any oth- 



PRECIOUS STONES. 537 

er combination that requires calcining to be got rid of. "They 
mio-ht well be smelted in a common blast furnace, with the aid 
of equal quantities of iron-stone, which lies in large quantities 
on the surface of all the hilly country. This is the common 
method used in Chili for this species of copper ore. The cop- 
per produced is remarkably pure and malleable; it is called 
" cobre de labradores,''^ or workmen's copper. It never requires 
turning when made into pots and pans for all sorts of cooking. 
The copper ores are what the Spanish miners call '•'■ metal de 
color,'''' metal being the term they use for ore, and are mostly 
red and blue oxydes and green carbonates, with now and then 
the brown and pigeon-breasted. They cut easily and smoothly 
with the knife, and yield from twenty-five to sixty per cent." 

Very valuable and extensive mines of iron exist in the De- 
partment of Tegucigalpa. The ore is so pure and abundant that 
it is said to exhibit in one place, where the bed, outcropping, is 
crossed by a mule-path, a surface of bright iron. The attempts 
that have been made to work these mines are so insignificant as 
scarcely to merit notice. Antimony, tin, and zinc mines are 
also found, but have never yet been worked. The same may 
be said of cinnabar, mines of which are known in the Depart- 
ments of Comayagua and Gracias, some of which are said to 
have been secretly worked by foreigners with great success. 
Seiior Cacho, Minister of Hacienda, informed me by letter of the 
existence of valuable cinnabar mines, in working which he was 
anxious to engage foreign labor. 

Precious Stones. — Gems and precious stones are among 
the treasures offered by Honduras to the industry of the world. 
Of these I can only speak of the opal, of which latterly some 
rare specimens have been brought from the Department of Gra- 
cias. The error should here be corrected as to the quality of 
these stones. In most instances they have been pronounced, 
upon close examination, to be the "hard," or noble opal, and in 
that respect entirely dififerent from the " soft," or Mexican opal, 
also known as the " Panama stone." 

A distinguished lapidary informs me that the soft opal may be 
detected by immersion in warm water causing the colors to dis- 
appear for several hours, when they will again return. Several 
from Honduras have been submitted to this test, without loss 



538 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

of color or brilliancy. Nearly a hundred were obtained by Mr. 
A. Marie, of New York, in Gracias, some years since. Some of 
these were extremely beautiful, and of extraordinary size. He 
describes the method pursued by the Indians in extracting the 
opals as rude and careless, the common pick and a heavy ham- 
mer alone being used. They occur in calcareous and lime- 
stone beds, and in small gangs and nests of the volcanic por- 
phyry formation. It is stated by Mr. Squier that some of the 
largest and most beautiful stones have suffered at the hands of 
the Indians, who estimate their value rather from their numbers 
than their size, and consequently break them in small pieces.* 

In the rough, the stone has a dull whitish appearance, and 
only reveals its concealed lustre under the hands of the lapida- 
ry: their value is scarcely yet appreciated in Honduras. In 
Tegucigalpa I saw a large opal set in silver, worn by a native, 
which, though not highly prized by its owner, must have been 
worth not far from $1000. 

On making inquiries in the town for opals, I was told that an 
old lady of Tegucigalpa had a collection, which she had owned 
for several years, and was willing to dispose of. She readily 
parted with the lot — about twenty — for five silver dollars, and, 
supposing them to be of little value, except as adding to my 
collection, they were forgotten until my return to California, 
when a German lapidary pronounced them precious opals, some 
of them of considerable value. The largest has since been val- 
ued by competent judges at $500, and the smaller ones were 
scarcely less beautiful. The incident is mentioned as showing 
the slight value which is often set upon opals in Honduras. 
They are confined to the single Department of Gracias, on the 
Guatemalan frontier: some emit blue and red scintillations; 
others blend their colors with purple and yellow, and others ex- 
hibit a mixture of green and yellow, with fiery flashes. 

It should be remembered that no scientific exploration of the 
opal region of Honduras has ever been made. In 1829, Thomp- 
son, in his report, designated precious stones as among the most 
valuable exports of the Department of Gracias. f Mr. Squier 
states that amethysts are reported to have been found in Gra- 

* Notes on Central America, p. 168. 

t Mawe, in his Treatise on Diamonds, describes the varieties of the precious 



PEECIOUS STONES. 539 

cias. That asbestos exists in Olancho there is every reason to 
beheve. 

Coal is found in the western part of the state, and on the Pa- 
cific coast Avithin a short distance of the Bay of Fonseca. The' 
mines occur principally in the Departments of Comayagua and 
Choluteca. The specimens shown me in Nacaome were of an 
inferior, if not worthless quality, but were probably not fair 
samples of the mine whence they were taken. 

Pearls are said to have been found in the Bay of Fonseca, but 
no specimens came to my notice while I was in Central Ameri- 
ca. As their presence is dependent upon the existence of oys- 
ters, there is no reason why that bay should not produce them, 
shell-fish being found in exhaustless quantities there. North- 
ward, in the Gulf of California and in that of Nicoya, in Costa 
Rica, the pearl-fishery has been prosecuted with success. Fon- 
seca Bay is equally a great inlet from the sea, and would doubt- 
less equally well reward the efibrts of the pearl-fisher. 

opal, of which class those of Gracias are now believed to be, as " white or pearly 
gray. When held between the eye and the light, it is pale red or wine-yellow, 
with a milky translucency. By reflected light it exhibits, as its position is va- 
ried, elegant and most beautiful iridescent colors, particularly emerald green, 
golden yellow, flame and fire red, violet, purple, and celestial blue, so beautifully 
blended and so fascinating as to captivate the admirer. When the color is ar- 
ranged in small spangles it takes the name of the harlequin opal. Sometimes it 
exhibits only one of the above colors, and of these the most esteemed are the 
vivid emerald green and the orange yellow. When the stone possesses the latter 
of these colors it is called the golden opal. ******* The precious opal is 
generally small, rarely so large as an almond or a hazel-nut, though I have seen 
some specimens the size of a walnut, for which several hundred pounds were de- 
manded.'" 



540 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 



CHAPTER XXVIIt 

Climate of the Interior. — Of the Coasts. — Diseases. — Public Instruction. — 
Amusements. — Religion. — Aboriginal Remains. — ^Ancient and present Popu- 
lation. — Government. — ^Political Divisions. 

AlthouGtH the sea-coasts of Central America have become 
proverbial for their insalubrity, it may be fairly claimed for the 
uplands of the interior, from Costa Rica to the plateaus of Mex- 
ico, that no portion of the world offers a more genial or equable 
temperature. Nature, as if unsatisfied with her lavish gifts in 
other respects, has dispensed to inland Honduras a climate not 
excelled by the most delightful regions of California. For the 
greater part of the year the mercury ranges between 69° and 
85° Fahrenheit, the changes of the seasons so gradually order- 
ed that the transitions from winter to summer, consisting in an 
alternation of dry and showery weather, is scarcely perceptible, 
and attended with few or none of the effects noticeable in the 
temperate zones. 

The four seasons are thus simplified into two, the rainy and 
dry. The former, announced by unfrequent gusts of rain and 
heavy clouds, commences about the first of May, and continues 
until the middle of November. It should not be understood, 
however, by the term " rainy season," a constant fall of rain, the 
change of season in this respect being somewhat similar to that 
of California. The wet months of Central America are in real- 
ity the pleasantest, not only from the verdant aspect of nature, 
whose wooded and floral beauties are developed by the rains, 
but from the peculiarly bracing atmosphere experienced in the 
mountain districts at that time. 

Throughout the greater part of the Central American isthmus 
the dry season is an uninterrupted drought, only relieved by 
slight showers at long intervals. Olancho and the interior of 
Eastern Honduras is, however, an exception to this rule. The 
season there commences, as usual, in November, but for geo- 
graphical reasons and the topography of the country, rain falls 



CLIMATE OF THE INTERIOR. 541 

at intervals until the middle of March. One of the heaviest 
thunder-storms I saw in Central America occurred on the 13th 
of Febniarj-, 1855. The rains come up with a southerly and 
easterly wind, and generally fall in the afternoon, though in the 
wet months proper the mountain storms sometimes rage with 
great violence all night. 

The '■'■ chuhasco,^'' or afternoon squall, may be depended on 
during the rainy season. The double-headed clouds heralding 
its approach are unmistakable, whether in the interior, marshal- 
ing with lowering front along the rugged peaks of the Cordille- 
ras, or on the coast, rolling up from seaward, glimmering with 
lightning, and muttering distant thunder. In the winter these 
storms burst upon the traveler unannounced, and in an incred- 
ibly short time swell the mountain streams into impassable 
torrents, as quickly subsiding with the passing of the tempest. 
These are succeeded by intervals of warm sunshine, imparting 
a freshness to the landscape, which, in its smooth, undulating 
character and sober woodlands, often recalls the finest portions 
of New England scenery, with the soft but invigorating climate 
of Jalapa, Puebla, or the city of Mexico. 

There is scarcely any season on the Caribbean coast when 
the climate is uncomfortably cool except during the violent 
norths, when the mercury has been known to descend to 60° 
Falirenheit ; but in the mountains, the weather is often so cold, 
from December to February inclusive, that fires are necessary 
for comfort ; hail-storms, one of which I have elsewhere al- 
luded to, are recorded, and in Salto, Santa Lucia, Cerro de Ule, 
Nueva Arcadia, and particularly in the elevated districts of Gra- 
cias, the cold is such that many of the inhabitants descend to 
the valleys until the return of more genial weather. In Tegu- 
cigalpa, at an elevation considerably over three thousand feet 
above the sea, the thermometer ranges from ^^° to 70° in the 
morning, from 72° to 80° at noon, and from 70° to 78° in the 
evening, from November to March inclusive. This shows an 
evenness of temperature leaving little to be desired. At Jute- 
calpa, during the winter months, I found the climate to differ 
but slightly from that of Tegucigalpa, notwithstanding its lesser 
altitude. 

A thermometrical table, kept during my journey, shows the 



542 



EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUBAS. 



range of the mercury from the summer of 1854 to the spring of 
1855. It exhibits a difference of temperature between the coasts 
and the uplands of the interior as marked as that existing be- 
tween the temperate and torrid zones. During the period passed 
in the interior of the country, the lowest mark of the thermom- 
eter was 52°, and the highest 88° of Fahrenheit. The results 
of this table would be here given in full but that the constant 
change of position and elevation while in the table-lands pre- 
vented a consecutive number of observations sufficient to estab- 
lish a basis of temperature.* I may add, however, that in the 

* The following are extracts from a meteorological table kept during my 
first visit in Tegucigalpa : 



Date. 


Sunrise. 


Noon. 


Sunset. 


Observations. 


1854. 


o 


o 


o 




Oct. 18 


64 


75 


70 


The winds during the latter part of October 


19 


65 


76 


72 


were principally from the N.N.E. and E. 


20 


64 


76 


72 


Heavy afternoon and evening storms, with 


21 


66 


76 


72 


thunder and lightning. Interludes of 


22 


64 


75 


73 


clear, bracing weather and light winds. 


23 


65 


75 


73 


Black, dense clouds descending below the 


24 


66 


75 


72 


peaks of the surrounding ranges during 


25 


66 


76 


73 


the rains, and light, feathery clouds in the 


26 


67 


75 


72 


intervals. The air cool and still from 5 


27 


66 


76 


72 


until 9 A.M. 


28 


66 


76 


72 




29 


65 


75 


72 




30 


65 


76 


73 




31 


65 


76 


72 




Nov. 1 


65 


77 


73 




2 


64 


78 


73 




3 


65 


76 


72 




4 


63 


75 


71 


-i Clear dry norther. 


6 


63 


74 


72 




6 


64 


74 


73 


!> 


7 


64 


76 


72 


Rain and heavy clouds at night. 


8 


63 


75 


72 



The following figures are from observations taken during my first visit in 
Jutecalpa, 1100 feet elevation: 



Date. 


Sunrise. 


Noon. 


Sunset. 


Observations. 


1865. 


o 


o 


o 




Jan. 3 


62 


70 


69 




4 


61 


72 


70 


Unfrequent but violent showers, with thun- 


5 


62 


73 


68 


y der and lightning. 


6 


60 


72 


69 




7 


61 


75 


69 


8 


62 


72 


70 




9 


63 


73 


70 




10 


62 


73 


69 




11 


63 


74 


69 


"^ 


12 


63 


73 


69 


Winds N.E. and N. Much rain, and low, 


13 


61 


73 


68 


( dense clouds, with slight intervals of 


14 


61 


73 


69 


J clear weathei:. 



CLIMATE OF THE INTERIOR. 



543 



northers, which in the winter months often sweep with great 
fury over the country, the temperature is such as to require thick 
clothing tlu'oughout the day ; and where fires are kept burning 
in the corridors tliey are surrounded with a huddling, shivering 
group. The mornings and nights are particularly cool. In con- 
clusion, it is not too much to accord to the interior of all Cen- 
tral xVmerica a climate not surpassed on the American continent. 

The temperature of the coast oifers little inducement for a 
lengthy sojourn to the stranger. On the Pacific side, the heats 
of summer are tempered with a grateful breeze setting in from 
seaward about 11 A.M. and subsiding at sundown; the even- 
ings and nights being rather oppressive, and the mornings still 
and hot. The town of Amapala, in the Bay of Fonseca, is one 
of the most temperate ; but, retiring a few leagues inland from 
the coast, we encounter an entirely difierent climate, where the 
natural heat of the low lands is unrelieved by the sea-breeze, 
from which they are partially deprived by intervening or adja- 
cent ranges : here the heat is often extreme, and, to strangers, 
unbearable. Fevers and other diseases incident to the country 
are more prevalent, and even the natives absent themselves, if 
possible, during the hot months. Such are some of the towns 
situated between the sea-coast and the Cordilleras; among these 
could be cited Nacaome, Choluteca, Pespire, and towns similar- 
ly located in Nicaragua and San Salvador. 

On the opposite or Atlantic side of the continent, the climate 



The foUomng are from observations taken during my second visit to the Ha- 
cienda of Lepaguare, 2100 feet elevation: 



Date. 


Sunrise. 


Noon. 


Sunset. 


Observations. 


1855. 










Jan. 16 


58 


72 


70 


^ N. and N.E. winds — very light and fitful ; 


17 


59 


72 


70 


dense fogs often overlaying the valleys 


18 


58 


72 


70 


)> and crowning the hill-tops. Mornings 


19 


58 


72 


69 


cool and damp ; at noon, the wind stron- 
J ger. 


20 


58 


73 


70 


21 


59 


73 


69 




22 


58 


72 


69 




23 


59 


73 


71 




24 


58 


74 


70 


Rain toward sunset and at night. 


25 


68 


74 


72 




26 


59 


74 


72 





On Cerro de Ule, at an elevation of 5000 feet, the thermometer showed at 
7 P.M., on the 18th of March, 1855, 52° Fahrenheit : this was during a strong, 
clear norther. 



544 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

is better known to Americans. The atmosphere, charged with 
moisture from the regular trade-winds sweeping across the At- 
lantic and the Caribbean Sea, preserves a constant humidity, 
while the condensing of these vapors upon the slopes of the Cor- 
dilleras, forms the numerous streams interlacing this side of the 
continent, and of which the Pacific slope is thus partially de- 
prived. The luxuriance of forest and jungle of the Caribbean 
coast, so remarkably contrasted with the lesser density of the 
woodland of the southern side, may be traced to this unceasing 
fertilizing agency. 

As a consequence of the general moisture of this region, to- 
gether with its high temperature, the climate can never be con- 
sidered salubrious, a conclusion sufficiently established by the 
unsuccessful attempts of the Spaniards to maintain populous 
towns there, and the melancholy failure of the English, Prus- 
sians, and Belgians to colonize the coast between Cape Gracias 
a Dios and Guatemala. Of these scarcely a trace but the graves 
of many of the adventurers remains to point out the folly of such 
enterprises. The harbors of the eastern coast should serve but 
as portals to the healthy region of the interior. The experi- 
ence of many years demonstrates this, and the sallow faces of 
most North Americans or Europeans who have escaped the or- 
deal of acclimation, too plainly indicate the enervating eifects of 
a protracted residence. A description of the climates, and the 
physical causes influencing them, of Vera Cruz, Tampico, San 
Juan del Norte, Aspinwall, and Balize, will apply, with slight 
exceptions, to the settlements on the northern coast of Hon- 
duras. 

The reports of recent visitors of this coast present more fa- 
vorable accounts of its climate. Captain Henderson, in 1811, 
represents the norths as being unpleasantly cold ; the wet ones 
conveying an imperfect idea of a November day in England, and 
the dry ones, or those not accompanied by rain, as beautiful, 
agreeable, and invigorating. These, he says, occur between 
the months of October and March. The same author, speaking 
of Balize, says : " The strong sea-breeze, which blows freely 
nine months of the year, contributes mainly to the health of the 
inhabitants. Still, the heat is by far too great to make any part 



CLIMATE ON THE COASTS. 



545 



of the province desirable as a place of emigration."* The same 
author alludes to the attempt of the speculator M'Gregor, many 
years since, to establish a colony at the mouth of the Black Riv- 
er, or Rio Tinto, a subject latterly made the basis of a well- 
known work of fiction. This enterprise was the means of sac- 
rificing many lives. The remnants of the colony afterward 
reached Truxillo, whence some members visited the interior for 
mining purposes. The few remaining of the ill-fated Belgian 
colony at Santa Tomas, in Guatemala, also retired into the sa- 
lubrious uplands, and became soon restored to health. t 

* In relation to the norths (or northers) of the Caribhean coast of Central Amer- 
ica, the following occurs in Captain Livingston's Translation of the Spanish Di- 
rectory for the West Indies (Derrotero de las Antilles) : 

" Upon the Mosquito shore, Honduras, and eastern coast of Yucatan, the gen- 
eral winds or breezes prevail in February, March, April, and May ; but during 
the first two of these months they are occasionally interrupted by norths. In 
June, July, and August, the winds here are from the eastward and westward of 
south, with tornadoes and calms. In September, October, November, December, 
and January, they are from the northward or southward of west, with frequent 
gales from W.S.W., W.N.W., and N. 

" The first of the norths is regularly felt in the month of September, but in this 
month and the following one, October, the norths do not blow with much force. 
Sometimes it happens that they do not appear ; but, in that case, the breeze is in- 
terrupted by heavy rains and tornadoes. In November the norths are establish- 
ed, blow with much strength, and continue a length of time during December, 
January, and Februaiy. In these months, after they begin, they increase fast ; 
and in four hours, or a little more, attain their utmost strength, with which they 
continue blowing for forty-eight hours ; but afterward, though they do not cease 
for some days, they are moderate. In these months the norths are obscure and 
northwesterly, and they come on so frequently that there is, in general, not more 
than four or six days between them. In March and April they are neither so 
frequent nor last so long, and are clearer, but yet they are more fierce for the first 
twenty-four hours, and have less northwesting. In the interval before November, 
in which, as we have said, the noi'ths are established, the weather is beautiful, and 
the general breeze blows vdth great regularity by day, the land-breeze as regu- 
larly by night." 

f The climate during part of the rainy season on the coast of Honduras is 
shown by the subjoined table, kept at Truxillo by an American resident in 1856 : 



Date. 


Sunrise. 


Noon. 


Sunset. 


Observations. | 


May 8 


78° 


88° 


86° 






9 


78 


89 


86 






10 


78 


88 


86 


Fair weather. 




11 


76 


88 


87 


do. 




12 


79 


89 


86 


Cool breezes in the evening. 




13 


79 


89 


84 


Cloudy and cool in the evening, with some 
wind. 


14 


76 


86 


82 


Fair weather. 




15 


74 


87 


85 


do. 




16 


76 


87 


85 


do. 





M M 



546 



EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 



Of the amount of rain falling either in the interior or on the 
coast, no statistics are known but those appearing in the elabo- 



Date. 


Sunrise. 


Noon. 


Sunset. 


Observations. 


76° 


88° 


84° 


Fair weather. 


18 


80 


88 


84 


Shower in A.M. — cloudy all day. 


19 


78 


84 


80 


Fair. 


20 


80 


88 


84 


Fair. 


21 


79 


88 


84 


j Several explosions of gases in the mount- 
l ains in the P.M. 


22 


76 


87 


84 


Slight shower this evening — showery dur- 
ing the night. 


23 


75 


87 


84 


Rain after 8 P.M., accompanied with thun- 
der and lightning. 


24 


79 


86 


84 


Shower this evening. 


25 


76 


86 


84 


Rained all day. 


26 


76 


78 


79 


Cloudy, with a breeze. 


27 


76 


80 


80 


do. do. 


28 


74 


84 


81 


Shower at 7i P.M. 


29 


76 


84 


82 


Shower at 9 P.M. 


30 


74 


84 


83 


Shower at 5 P.M. 


31 


76 


84 


80 


Showery during day and evening. 


June 1 


75 


82 


77 


Showery during the afternoon. 


2 


75 


80 


78 


Do. do., with cool breeze. 


3 


75 


80 


78 


Cloudy, with a breeze. 


4 


78 


86 


82 


Fair. 


5 


78 


88 


84 


Fair. 


6 


78 


88 


83 


Rain from 8 to 10 A.M. 


7 


78 


86 


80 


Showery all day. 


8 


78 


86 


80 


Showery since 2 P.M. 


9 


76 


81 


78 


Do. since 5 P.M., with wind. 


10 


72 


84 


78 


Thunder during the P.M. 


11 


76 


84 


82 


Rain about 3 P.M. 


12 


75 


84 


82 


Fair, with light wind. 


13 


75 


85 


82 


Showery during A.M. 


14 


78 


88 


84 


Cloudy — thunder — rain at 8 P.M. 


15 


76 


84 


81 


Rain during P.M. 


16 


75 


83 


79 


Cloudy during A.M. 


17 


76 


81 


81 


Rained violently this P.M. 


18 


76 


83 


77 


Cloudy ; slight sprinkles of rain. 


19 


76 


80 


71 


Showery all day. 


20 


76 


79 


79 


Cloudy, with wind in the P.M. 


21 


76 


81 


79 


Rainy since 2 P.M. 


22 


76 


82 


77 


Rainy since 2 P.M. 


23 


74 


82 


75 


Rainy during P.M. 


24 


74 


81 


80 


Rainy during P.M. 


25 


74 


84 


81 


Fair. 


26 


76 


84 


80 


Showery during P.M. 


27 


76 


75 


76 


Showery during the day. 


28 


74 


82 


78 


j Showery during P.M., with wind and thun- 
1 der. 


29 


73 


84 


80 


Fair. 


30 


76 


86 


80 


Showery at 5 P.M. 


July 1 


74 


84 


80 


Showery during the day. 


2 


— 


— 


— 


Rain at 5 P.M. 


3 


— 


— 


— 


Fair. 


4 


— 


— 


— 


Fair. 



In "Martin's British Colonies," p. 138, appears the following summary of a 
meteorological table kept several years since at Balize, Honduras. It may be 



CLIMATE ON THE COASTS. 



547 



rate report published in 1852 by O. W. Childs, Surveyor of the 
proposed Nicaragua Ship Canal. The admeasurements of this 
engineer give the following results ; and, as similar natural causes 
act upon the whole of Central America, they will apply as well 
to the adjacent republic of Honduras. From September 9th, 
1850, to September 25th, 1851, the amount of water falling at 
E-ivas, taken in inches and decimals, was as follows : 



September (1850 7.005 

October 17.860 

November 1.395 

December 3.210 

January (1851) 0.380 

February 0.000 

March 1.410 



April 0.430 

May 9.145 

June 14.210 

July 22.640 

August 11.810 

September 13.240 

Total inches 101.735 



The amount of rain that fell during the year from September 
9, 1850, to September 9, 1851, was 97.71 inches. There were 
226 dry days, and 139 in which rain fell. From May to Oc- 
tober inclusive, 90.89 inches fell, and during the remaining six 
months of the year, known as the dry season, only 6.82 inches. 
The observations were taken in Rivas, where rain falls in nearly 
every month. That rain falls in Olancho in nearly every month 
of the year is shown by the meteorological tables extending 
nearly through what is known in Central America as the " dry 
season." 

Diseases. — The diseases are in reality few. Fevers are rare 
except on the coast, where the calentura or coast fever prevails 

received as a fair criterion of the temperature on the entire coast of Honduras, 
Guatemala, and Yucatan: 

Meteokological Eegister at Balize, Honduras. 



Months. 


Thermometer. 


Winds. 


Remarks. 


Max. 


Med. 


Min. 


January... 

February. . 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August .... 
September 
October ... 
November 
December 


77° 

78 

79 

82 

83 

84 
83 
83 
83 
83 
80 
78 


75° 

78 

78 
80 

81 

82 
82 
82 
82 
81 
79 
75 


72° 

75 

74 
78 

79 

80 
80 
79 
79 
78 
74 
71 


W., N., and N.W. 

W., E., and N.E. 

E.N.E. and W. 

E. and N.E. 

E.N.E. and W. 

E.N.E. and S.E. 
E.N.E. and S.E. 

E.N.E. and W. 
E., W., and N.E. 

E.N.E. and W. 

E.N.E. and W. 

E.N.E. and W. 


j Generally dry, fine weather ; 

1 some rain. 

j Ditto, with pleasant breezes and 

1 showers. 
Ditto, ditto. 
Ditto, sea breeze regular. 

j At times dry, then heavy show- 

( ers, lightning, and thunder. 
Air moist, cloudy — heavy rain. 
Ditto, thunder and lightning. 
Ditto, ditto. 
Fine occasionally. 
Fine, with some heavy showers. 
Dry and pleasant. 
Ditto, ditto ; slight showers. 



548 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

during the hottest months. Goitre is not confined to any par- 
ticular locality, but is most common in the mountainous dis- 
tricts, where, as in Switzerland, the poorer classes are subject to 
it. I met with but three or four instances of it. 

Elephantiasis, though not common, is occasionally found also 
in the upland regions. But one leg is ever stricken with the 
disease ; the limb gradually increases to double the size of the 
other, the swelling often reaching above the thigh : this disease 
is considered incurable and fatal. The natives have various ex- 
planations of these and similar affections, the commonly received 
one being that of drinking impure water. Such disorders, and 
the remarkable swelling of the muscles of the neck, leaving a 
sort of hump behind, may be accounted for in a similar manner 
with the same complaints in Europe, with the exception of goi- 
tre, which can not, as in the mountains of Switzerland, be at- 
tributed to snow. 

The foreigner is often afflicted with a painful cutaneous erup- 
tion resembling boils, and here called '-'-granosf they attack the 
leg below the knee, and sometimes swell the feet to such a de- 
gree as to render it impossible to wear boots or shoes. This 
affliction may be cured by drinking the Coyol wine, before re- 
ferred to, and by baths of salt and water. 

The fevers of the country are the "tertiana" (or every-oth^ 
er-day fever), resembling in its effects and mode of attack the 
worst form of fever and ague of the Western United States, 
and the '•'• calentura^^'' a type of the same. This is uncom- 
mon in the interior, and yields easily to the usual remedies, 
which are generally strong cathartics, followed by doses of 
quinine, prescribed by the native physicians on the general and 
rather perilous principle that if a little is good, a great deal is 
better. 

The symptoms of Central American fever are cold shudder- 
ings, varied by quick flushes of heat, and sickness at the stom- 
ach. If the patient has taken cold, they are reckoned danger- 
ous. An intolerable headache, weakness of the limbs, aching of 
the joints, dizziness, and general debility, attend the attack. It 
is hastened by immoderate use of liquors and fruit, irregularity 
in eating, or imprudent exposure to the rains, night air, or noon- 
day sun. But the most scrupulous care will not always avail, 



PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 549 

and the mere change of climate renders the foreigner liable to it. 
The fevers, as a general rule, succumb to experienced and prompt 
medical treatment. 

The cholera, though decimating the largest cities of Central 
America in 1836, has never yet made its appearance in Olancho, 
and but few cases have ever occurred in any part of Honduras ; 
the northeast trades seem to act as a constant disinfectant firom 
this and all other epidemics. 

As in Chinandega, Nicaragua, some of the women of Olancho 
are disfigured by a large swelling, or wen, protruding from the 
fore part of the neck, directly under the chin. It presents an 
unseemly sight, and has never been satisfactorily accounted for. 
It has been mistaken by strangers for the goitre, and may be 
identical with the '■^ guegilecho,''^ or swelling of the glands of the 
neck, mentioned by Dunn in his work on Guatemala. 

The native physicians are generally graduates of the college 
of Guatemala. Their knowledge of medicine is extremely lim- 
ited ; probably the same remedies used by the followers of Gil 
Gonzales and Pedrarias are in vogue at the present time. Fe- 
male doctors, or old women known as "cMrac?oras,"are found 
in every town, whose art is confined to a few simples, and, in 
fevers, to rubbing the patient with tallow, and mumbling over 
some senseless incantation. These old creatures are usually ex- 
tremely jealous of foreign interference in this business. 

Public Instruction. — The revolutions and their attendant 
sectional jealousies have greatly retarded the progress of popu- 
lar education in nearly all Central America. A feeble spark 
has been kept alive, however, and there are now, as estimated 
by Mr. Squier, in Honduras about four hundred schools where 
children are taught to read and write. The young of all classes 
meet here on a common level, and, with a different system and 
efficient teachers, the result would be highly encouraging. The 
scholars are generally apt and intelligent, and capable of receiv- 
ing instruction. Honduras has produced more than her quota 
of the distinguished men of Central America ; among them sol- 
diers, statesmen, and orators, who, in a wider field and under 
more propitious circumstances, might have filled an illustrious 
page in history. 
- The Academia Liter aria of Tegucigalpa, and a similar in- 



550 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

stitution in a less flourishing condition in Comayagua, are the 
only colleges or universities in the republic. The former I have 
elsewhere described. 

The principal seat of learning in Central America is at the 
city of Guatemala, where are several old literary institutions 
founded under the viceroyalty. Youths are sent there from all 
parts of Honduras. The University, though greatly improved 
in all respects within the last ten years, is still not equal to 
those of Mexico. Dunn, writing in 1828, represents them in a 
ludicrous light, and rebukes the national vanity of the historian 
Juarros, who speaks of examinations in surgery, of a royal cab- 
inet of natural history, a school of mathematics, and a college 
of physicians. " In connection with the university," he adds, 
"there are twelve professorships, and an academical senate of 
fifty doctors. It is needless to enumerate the chairs : they are 
of Latin, philosophy, theology, morals, etc. What the precise 
method of imparting instruction may be matters little. It is 
sufficient to know that the students leave the college with sim- 
ilar acquirements to those Gil Bias possessed when he departed 
from the University of Salamanca." Guatemala has lately had 
no revolutions, and more attention has been devoted to the cul- 
ture of the useful arts and to education than formerly. Addi- 
tional appropriations have been made, and that some interest is 
felt in scientific subjects may be gathered from the interesting- 
mineral, ornithological, and botanical collection forwarded in 
1855 to the Great Exhibition in Paris. 

By far the majority of the people of Honduras are steeped in 
ignorance and superstition. The libraries, consisting principal- 
ly of theological works, are few and meagre, and mostly the 
property of priests. But one newspaper, '■'■La Gaceta Oficial^'' 
is published in the republic. The books are generally Mexican 
and Guatemalan republications of Spanish works, or political 
and personal pamphlets and handbills. Years of experience for- 
bid all hope for a change for the better, except, perhaps, through 
foreign influence, with its attendant enlightenment. While the 
only available means of instruction remain in the power of the 
priesthood, and until the progress of events shall have led to 
such a political change as has been above hinted, there can be 
little done for the cause of popular education in Honduras. 



AMUSEMENTS AND RELIGION. 551 

Amusements. — In a country so secluded from the world, and 
consequently so thrown upon its own resources, the means of 
public diversion in Honduras are limited. They consist of 
bull-fights, which are rude and humble imitations of similar ex- 
hibitions in Spain ; gambling, confined to monte, the national 
game of the Spaniard and his colonial descendant ; horse-racing, 
cock-fighting, in which all classes indulge, from the clergy to 
the meanest mestizo ; dancing, and the ^\x\Aicfuncions and^es- 
tas of the Catholic Church. 

Thompson speaks of theatricals at Guatemala ; but, with the 
exception of a diminutive Thespian temple at the capital of 
Costa Rica, this species of amusement has not reached the oth- 
er states. A circus from California once attempted to seduce 
the Salvadorenos, but unsuccessfully. With the true Spanish 
dislike of innovations, there is little encouragement extended to 
the efibrts of foreigners to win the Central Americans from their 
old channels of diversion. 

Religion. — The present Constitution of Honduras (that of 
1848) recognizes only the Roman Catholic religion, but no ob- 
stacles are advanced to untrammeled worship, under whatever 
denomination. The largest liberty now prevails in this respect ; 
still, I was informed by the curate of Jutecalpa, who had repre- 
sented the Department of Olancho in the National Legislature, 
that the erection of any but a Catholic church would be opposed 
by the government and the priesthood. In an attempt, made 
some years ago by an English company, to introduce colonists 
into Honduras for agricultural purposes, Mr. Chatfield endeav- 
ored to secure for them from the government the privilege of 
erecting and worshiping in a Protestant church, but was sturdi- 
ly opposed. Whatever innovation, political or social, may be in 
store for Honduras, it is not probable that any change can for 
many years be effected in the religion of the country. The forms 
of the Church are not oppressive, the inhabitants generally ven- 
erating the padres. 

Under the viceroyalty there were convents in Honduras of 
the Franciscan, Merced, and Carmelite orders. These, however, 
have been many years abolished, and two of them turned into 
universities. The benefices and clerical exactions under the 
Spanish rule were abolished by Morazan with the exodus of 



552 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

the friars in 1829. Of the former property and revenues of the 
Church, little or nothing now remains ; the padres are generally 
poor, and the churches have been long since divested of their 
valuables. Unlike Mexico, the revolutions have resulted in the 
impoverishing and curtailing the power of the Church. Senor 
Lerdo de Tajeda, now at the head of the Mexican financial de- 
partment, estimates the real property of the clergy in that coun- 
try at the incredible sum of $250,000,000 ! In Central Amer- 
ica, on the contrary, the churches are falling to decay ; the relig- 
ious processions, bombas, and tinsel for feast-days are dependent 
upon the contributions of the devout. 

The baneful results of clerical interference in the political af- 
fairs of Central America have taught the people to define, as far 
as possible, the limits between the Church and state. Hence 
the gradual relief of the political system from the control of the 
priests, and a liberal tolerance of all Christian forms of worship. 

Population, Aboriginal and Modern. — Eecent explora- 
tions in Western Honduras have shown that a people not great- 
ly inferior to the builders of Palenque and Chichen in civiliza- 
tion and intelligence, resided here at the date of the discovery. 
In Chapter XXIY. I have referred briefly to the aborigines of 
Honduras as described by Herrera. The names of many towns 
in the valley of Comayagua, passing through the department of 
that name, are perpetuated from their aboriginal ones, existing, 
it is presumed, at the time of the Conquest. The ruins of Te- 
nampua, situated about twenty miles southeast from Comaya- 
gua, are noticed at considerable length by Mr. Squier, firom whose 
description it would appear that extensive structures for defens- 
ive or religious purposes, or both, existed here at a remote pe- 
riod. It was doubtless in this vicinity that the Cacique Lem- 
pira, with thirty thousand warriors, fortified himself in 1536, 
and for six months defied the Spaniards under Alonzo de Car- 
ceres. The state, however, is generally bare of aboriginal mon- 
uments, though the ruins of Copan, until lately erroneously lo- 
cated in Guatemala, are many miles within the boundaries of 
Honduras, and but a few days' travel from the original landing- 
place of the Spanish discoverers. 

The aborigines of Eastern Honduras and Segovia, as de- 
scribed by Juarros, though known under the general name of 



POPULATION. 553 

Xicaques, Moscos, and Sambos, were composed of many na- 
tions, among whom were the Lencas, Teguacas, Payas (or Poyas), 
Albatulnas, Tahuas (or Toacas), Jaras, Taos, Gaulas, Fantas- 
mas, Iziles, Motucas, and many others, all speaking different 
languages, having distinct governments, manners, and customs, 
and distinguished by a variety of hues, black, white, and cop- 
per-colored. These tribal designations, however, were assumed 
after the conquest of Honduras, the variety of colors having 
arisen from the mixing of the natives with a considerable num- 
ber of shipwrecked Spaniards, and afterward with negroes cast 
ashore fi'om a wrecked slave-vessel. The names of Taguzgal- 
pa (Teguaca village ?), Jutecalpa, Tonjagua, Teupacente, Lepa- 
guare, Jutequili, Culmi, Asagualpa, Catacamas, are all derived 
from tlie Indian language, or are the aboriginal names unchanged 
since the discovery. That the Spaniards found this portion of 
the country well populated, is evident fr'om the opposition shown 
to their march into the interior, and their designation as " power- 
fal tribes" by Bernal Diaz. Their descendants, under-theJiame 
of '■Hribas err antes''' and '■'■ salvajes indigenos^'' as distinguish- 
ed from the more civilized and agricultural tribes, located nearer 
the towns of the Spaniards, still wander over the coast savan- 
nas, or tread the mountain solitudes, rarely communicating with 
the settlements of the "converted" Indians. 

No traces appear of architectural design, or even the existence 
of an organized system of worship, such as is evidenced in the 
gigantic idols and splendid ruins found in Yucatan, Guatemala, 
and Nicaragua. Mounds containing specimens of ancient pot- 
tery are often met with by the vaqueros while exploring the 
gloomy depths of the forest, but these seldom survive the de- 
structive curiosity of the natives. In the valleys of Agalta and 
Abajo, in Olancho, and in the Department of Tegucigalpa, es- 
pecially on the extensive hacienda of Labranza, the mounds are 
most frequently met with. The terra-cottas contained in them 
are of an ancient shape, of which no patterns now exist ; from 
ten to thirty pieces are found in each, generally in the form of 
pans and jars. I could not learn that any idols or human bones 
had ever been discovered. The jars have often been found so 
complete as to be adopted for household use ; they exhibit no 
signs of painting or ornamental sculpture. 



554 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

The proportion of white, Indian, and mixed races in Hondu- 
ras is not correctly ascertained, nor are there known any statis- 
tics upon which to base other than a conjectural statement. 
The estimates of Crowe, Thompson, and Squier, the only relia- 
ble authors on these subjects, make their statements for Central 
America generally, or for Guatemala ; but in Honduras it can 
not fail to strike the visitor that the negro and Indian stocks 
form a very large proportion. Assuming Mr. Squier's estimate 
of the population (350,000) to be correct, the relative propor- 
tions may be stated as follows : 

Negroes and Mulattoes 140,000 

Indians 100,000 

Ladinos 60,000 

Whites 50,000 

Total 350,000 

No reliable census has ever been taken of the state. The 
population even of large towns is not ascertained with certainty, 
the statements of intelligent residents varying two thousand for 
Tegucigalpa, and an equal number for the smaller town of Jute- 
calpa. The variations in population produced by the revolu- 
tions sufficiently account for this, all the male inhabitants de- 
serting a small town to escape conscription on the approach of 
war, so that successive travelers may give entirely different es- 
timates. At the commencement of the war of 1855 between 
Honduras and Guatemala, I was informed that steps had al- 
ready been taken to form a census of the state ; but, under the 
usual system of government, no correct estimate can ever be 
made, as, at the approach of a military or civil official, the poor- 
er classes flee precipitately from the villages. 

While the white population has diminished, the blacks, In- 
dians, and Ladinos have been slowly but steadily increasing, 
and the Carib settlements between Cape Cameron and Omoa 
have augmented to a surprising extent in the last four years. 
Indiscriminate amalgamation has nearly obliterated the former 
distinction of castes, and few families of pure Spanish descent 
are known. Some of the wealthiest merchants of the Depart- 
ment of Tegucigalpa are blacks, possessing a surprising degree 
of business tact. Two of the largest commercial houses have 
negro proprietors, whose mercantile relations extend to Europe, 



POPULATION. 555 

whence they import most of their goods. Though the great ma- 
jority of the negroes of Honduras are a thoroughly debased and 
ignorant class, there are numerous exceptions. The Senate and 
House of Assembly have contained many highly intelligent 
blacks and mulattoes, thoroughly educated in the Central Amer- 
ican school of politics, and with sufficient discernment to foresee 
the decline of their own influence and the power of the negro 
race with the introduction of the Teutonic stock. Hence their 
violent opposition to foreign enterprises in the national coun- 
cils and in their private circles. 

The clergy are mostly negroes or Tnestisos. Their power for 
evil has been largely curtailed since the Independence ; but, with 
few exceptions, these men exercise rather a favorable influence 
over the people, and are generally respected. The whites, stand- 
ing in a small numerical minority, regard the increase of the 
other races with alarm. They have been the originators of 
nearly every scheme for the invitation of foreigners into Hondu- 
ras, and, except when restrained by popular opposition, have en- 
tered heartily into the proposals of Americans to colonize the 
country, or in any way to develop its resources. The failure of 
such enterprises has, in most cases, been owing to the overthrow 
of such Liberal administrations, and the succession of the Ser- 
vile or mestizo party. 

The wealthiest and most pure-blooded of these families are lo- 
cated in the eastern part of the state, where a species of repub- 
lican aristocracy is maintained, and from whom, in the course 
of time, the regeneration of Honduras, by their affiliation with 
foreigners, will doubtless proceed. 

The Indians, descended from the aboriginal tribes already al- 
luded to, are distributed throughout the state, but divided into 
two distinct classes : those inhabiting the plateaus and table- 
lands of the interior, who may be classed as a peaceable, indus- 
trious people, such as the Texiguats and others, cultivating 
small patches of vegetables and fruits, which they carry pa- 
tiently to the nearest towns ; the other, the coast Indians and 
those wandering over the wilds of Olancho, such as the Poyas, 
Woolwas, Guacos, and the Caribs, who are located from Cape 
Gracias a Dios to Guatemala. These are principally employed 
as servants, mahogany cutters, carriers, and muleteers. The 



556 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

best authorities represent them as docile and light-hearted, and 
the few who have intelligence enough to interest themselves in 
the political issues of the country generally express their pref- 
erence for the Liberal party. 

The condition of the coast Indians and negroes has some- 
what improved within five years. An attempt at thrift in the 
construction of their huts, an improvement in their style of dress, 
and other advantages accruing from a desultory trade with Trux- 
illo and Omoa, are apparent. Many of them reside in those parts 
as servants or workmen.* 

Physically, the Indians are superior to the whites in Hondu- 
ras. They are mostly robust and athletic, of fine stature, and 
capable of great exertion. As laborers, they are better calcula- 
ted for the climate than any other people, excepting the negroes. 
The couriers pass over incredible distances in a day ; the march- 
es recorded of Morazan's troops, and which the dates of battles 
and historical occurrences fully substantiate, are almost unpar- 
alleled. These Indians subsist for long periods on roots, vege- 
tables, and wild fruits, and resist disease with the scantiest 
imaginable clothing. As arieros, silver miners (tanateros), and 
mahogany cutters, they display a power of endurance for which, 

* It is stated on the authority of an American gentleman, for several years a 
resident at Omoa, that descendants of the ancient Aztec race are yet to be found 
at that place. The few who are known have been employed as domestics by the 
foreign residents, and they are represented to be of diminutive stature, and un- 
like any other Indians in Honduras. A small tribe of them are said to exist 
on the confines of Guatemala, whence the few found in Honduras have come. 
One of their peculiarities is to retire to some secluded spot when stricken with 
disease, where, it is said, they often die for want of assistance, which they 
stubbornly refuse. An Aztec who had lived for some years in the house of 
the United States Consul, Mr. FoUen, became sick, and refused all proifers of 
aid; he retired from sight, convinced that his time had arrived, and moodi- 
ly desired that none should follow him. His remains were subsequently found 
in a deserted hut, where he had hidden himself to die. Similar instances 
are related of this singular people. It may not be irrelevant here to remark 
that the living curiosities exhibited some years since under the name of the 
"Aztec Children" were taken from an Indian village near Cojutepeque, in San 
Salvador, by a Spaniard named Silva, to Avhom the mother sold them for a tri- 
fling simi. The story of their Mexican origin was an amusing fiction — a part of 
the speculation. The most remarkable fact in relation to this subject is, that the 
mother has since produced a counterpart of the first cctuple, and, at the time of 
my visit to Central America, was desirous of disposing of them to some specula- 
tor from el Norte for a reasonable consideration ! 



GOVEENMENT. 557 

in a tropical and at times debilitating climate, the stranger is 
quite unprepared. 

Such a population, wisely hut rather arbitrarily ruled, and 
with the impetus of foreign enterprise to stimulate them to ex- 
ertion, are capable of raising Honduras to an enviable grade of 
prosperity, but not without the ingrafting of a Teutonic stock 
by liberal encouragement to immigrants, thus to prevent the fa- 
tal decrease of the white races, and to open the way to civiliza- 
tion and progress. Priest-ridden, steeped in superstition, and 
enervated by prejudiced and ignorant rulers, the people have 
nothing to hope for the future where the past has been but the 
liistory of destructive and barbaric tendencies. 

GovEENMENT AND POLITICAL DIVISIONS. — The republic is 
divided politically into seven departments or counties, as follows: 
Olancho, Yoro, Tegucigalpa, Choluteca, Comayagua, Gracias, 
and Santa Barbara. The capital of each corresponds to the 
name of the department, excepting Olancho, of which the capi- 
tal is Jutecalpa. The city of Comayagua, though smaller and 
less populous than Tegucigalpa, is the seat of government of the 
republic. 

The government is based on the Constitution of 1848, framed 
under the administration of President Lindo, whose signature, 
and that of Santos Guardiola, is subscribed to it. The Presi- 
dent holds office for four years, and is ineligible for re-election. 
The actual cabinet consists of two ministers — of Treasury and 
of State, and the Legislature of two bodies — the Senate and 
Chamber of Deputies. Each department is entitled to one sen- 
ator and two deputies, making in the aggregate, from seven de- 
partments, twenty-one members of the General Assembly. The 
judicial power is vested in a Supreme Court, held at Comayagua 
and Tegucigalpa. These are the outlines of the governmental 
system; but so numerous and incessant are the political changes, 
that they may be said to exist rather as formal declarations than 
facts. It is seldom that a quorum of the General Assembly can 
be collected, and on extraordinary occasions military force is 
used to compel the attendance of members hostile to the exist- 
ing administration. 

The revolutions, however, do not so often affect the depart- 
mental authorities. These consist of a Jefe Politico, or govern- 



558 EXPLOKATIONS m HONDURAS. 

ment agent, a military commander (" Commandante Militar''' 
or "fi?d Armas'''), a Judge of First Instance, and an '■'■Intendente 
de ITacienda" or collector of the public revenues. The depart- 
ments are subdivided into Municipalidades, governed by a Jefe 
del Distrito and an Alcalde, who in the larger towns has two 
or more deputies. These local authorities are tacitly continued 
undisturbed by changes in constitutions or administrations. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 



Commerce. — ^Exports and Imports. — Commercial Regulations. — Revenue, — 
Seals.— Public Debt. 

An attempt to obtain accurate information respecting the 
amount of exports and imports in Eastern Honduras is met by 
a total lack of statistics, leaving the inquirer in the dark, and 
rendering the task at best a doubtful one. The accounts regis- 
tered at the Aduanas of Truxillo and Omoa have been allowed 
to disappear through neglect, or have been lost or destroyed 
amid the oft-recurring revolutions of the country, in which a 
quick rotation of officials has made the registering of entries a 
matter of little moment compared with the pecuniary interests of 
these temporary place-holders. 

In the absence of all reliable facts in Honduras touching these 
subjects, we naturally turn to the U. S. Custom House of Bos- 
ton, through which port the greater part, if not all, of the Hon- 
duras trade with the North has been conducted in the hands of 
two well-known firms, who for many years have carried on a 
profitable trade with the settlements of Balize, Omoa, and Trux- 
illo. The English trade seems also to be controlled by sever- 
al London houses, having extensive agencies at Balize. Their 
operations, however, are mainly confined to the cutting and ex- 
porting of mahogany. 

The frequency of the changes in the political organization of 
Central America has rendered it nearly impossible for the United 
States government to keep pace with them, and, since the ratifi- 
cation of the treaty of 1826 between the republic of Central 
America and the United States, our government has continued 
its commercial relations with that country on the basis of the 



COMMERCE. 559 

stipulations therein contained, disregarding the new political 
attitudes assumed at short intervals during the last thirty years, 
and as yet having no cause to regret this rather loose, if not 
careless basis of commercial intercourse. 

The statistics of commerce during the last quarter of a cen- 
tury have been consolidated in the U. S. Custom House ac- 
counts under the general head of Central America (including Ba- 
lize or British Honduras), and this arrangement has been ob- 
served through eight administrations, though in that time the 
Central American confederacy has been dissolved, each state 
subsequently proclaiming itself an independent republic, with 
foil powers to " declare war and make treaties." 

Thus generalized, no accounts have been taken of the com- 
merce of any one state, and it was found impossible (without a 
tedious examination of papers and documents difficult of access) 
to obtain the statistics of trade of Honduras. 

The house of Messrs. Nickerson & Co., engrossing the com- 
merce between Boston and Northern Honduras, have kindly fur- 
nished a list of the amount and description of goods received by 
them from the ports of Omoa and Truxillo during the four an- 
nual voyages of 1855 and a portion of 1856, in exchange for the 
cheap manufactured and other goods adapted to the wants of a 
people of simple habits. But, though the interior has been for 
some years known to them as a rich and fertile country, abound- 
ing in resources, they have naturally avoided extending their 
business relations beyond the better-known articles of commerce, 
elsewhere enumerated, and which command certain prices in the 
markets of the United States. Very rich specimens of copper 
and silver ore, besides opals of considerable value, have been 
brought thence by the masters of vessels in their employ, but, 
for reasons above enumerated, they have declined going beyond 
the limits of their "legitimate trade." 

The results of the four voyages above referred to, and extend- 
ing through 1855, are as follows : 

FIEST VOYAGE IN 1855-6. 

From Truxillo. — 2445 hides, 20 bales deer-skins (238 doz.), 
104 bales sarsaparilla (130 lbs. per bale), 2878 arrobas Lima 
wood, 2359 feet of mahogany, 72 lbs. turtle-shell. 



560 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

From Omoa. — 26 bales sarsaparilla, 98 dozen deer-skins, 23 
bales of indigo (2749 lbs.), 2785 hides, 50 ounces of old silver. 

SECOND VOYAGE. 

From Truxillo. — 3226 hides, 319 dozen deer-skins, 58 bales 
sarsaparilla, 1584 arrobas Lima wood, 137 lbs. turtle-shell, 375 
lbs. India-rubber. 

From Omoa. — 9 bales sarsaparilla, 217 dozen deer-skins, 2400 
hides. 

THIED YOTAGE. 

From Truxillo. — 660 hides, 122 bales sarsaparilla, 147 dozen 
deer-skins, 3608 arrobas Lima wood, 50 lbs. turtle-shell, 42 lbs. 
India-rubber, 5 ounces of gold dust, 79 marcs of silver. 

From Omoa. — 40 bales sarsaparilla, 337 dozen deer-skins, 
2412 hides, 477 horns. 

FOUETH VOYAGE. 

From Truxillo. — 3302 hides, 169 dozen deer-skins, 109 bales 
sarsaparilla, 598 arrobas Lima wood, 19 lbs. turtle-shell. 

From Omoa. — 1984 hides. 111 dozen deer-skins, 48 bales 
sarsaparilla, 6 lbs. turtle-shell, 15 ceroons of indigo. 

The above hides are brought from the interior of Olancho 
and Yoro on mules, and sometimes from a distance requiring 
many days' tedious travel to accomplish. They are valued at 
about twenty per cent, less than those of Buenos Ayres in Bos- 
ton. 

Of the exports from the coast of Northern and Eastern Hon- 
duras, Mr. Nickerson estimates that of hides about an equal 
quantity are carried to Havana and Boston. Of deer-skins, 
the markets of Balize and Boston at present consume about the 
entire product in equal quantities. Those reaching Balize are 
exported to England and New York. Gold and silver is sent 
almost exclusively to England. Boston, Balize, and Havana 
divide between them the exports of sarsaparilla from Truxillo 
and Omoa. Of all other exports, more is probably taken to Ha- 
vana and Balize than Boston. 

It should be remembered, however, that full one half of the 



MAHOGANY.— SILVER. 561 

entire produce of Honduras in the above articles finds its way, 
as I have elsewhere explained, to San Miguel. Taking this fact 
into consideration, and remembering the amount passing through 
Balize and to Havana, it will appear that the trade of the north- 
ern coast is not inconsiderable, and may, with a moderate degree 
of energy, be largely increased. 

But in the article of mahogany and other valuable woods, a 
vast commerce maybe established with the United States, enough 
to enrich many extensive houses. Great fortunes have been 
realized in London in this business, which, carried on exclusive- 
ly by the English, is still the basis of large operations. Tiie 
revenue of Honduras is considerably increased by the duty im- 
posed on cutting mahogany. These duties, however, are partly 
avoided by corrupting the government officers, so that only a 
small portion of them are realized by the state. I have else- 
Avhere referred to the manner of cutting, and the method of drag- 
ging and rafting the logs down the rivers to the sea. 

From the Pacific side, as I have before remarked, the export- 
ations of mahogany and produce to California have not yet as- 
sumed an important position in commerce. A company of 
Americans have lately proposed to set up a saw-mill in San 
Salvador, near the port of Acajutla. 

The exportation of silver ore has also been latterly com- 
menced. The first sample of ores taken from a mine near Cho- 
luteca was received in August, 1855, consigned to me by Senor 
Dardano, of Tigre Island. This consisted of twenty-five ce- 
roons of lead and iron sulphurets, blended with disintegrated 
quartz and limestone. The total amount was a little over a 
ton. This was assayed by the German firm of Wass, Molitor, 
& Co., of San Francisco ; but, owing to the lack of competent 
apparatus, only a small sample was smelted. The result was 
sufficiently favorable to warrant the proprietors of the establish- 
ment in promising me to incur the expense of erecting costly 
European machinery capable of smelting large quantities, could 
an amount of ore per year be guaranteed sufficient to keep the 
apparatus employed. Of this ore enough can be obtained to 
load several vessels a year. This, as well as the greater part 
of that sent to San Miguel, is shipped in English vessels from 
La Union and Acajutla to England, where the purchasers, who 



562 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS, 

have exchanged cheap manufactured goods for the more pre- 
cious commodity, realize large fortunes in the business. ^ I am 
convinced that a valuable trade is yet destined to grow up be- 
tween California and Central America, not only in silver and 
copper ores, but in vanilla, dye-woods, mahogany, the great trop- 
ical staples, and a variety of precious medicinal plants and gums, 
all of which may be monopolized by the merchants of San Fran- 
cisco. 

The cargo of the schooner Julius Pringle, from Realejo and 
Amapala to California in 1855, consisted in part of " 122 planks 
of mahogany, 4 inches thick, and from 12 to 15 inches wide ; 178 
planks of cedar, or bay mahogany, from 14 to 22 inches wide, 
and 4 thick, and from 10 to 24 feet long; 363 planks ditto, from 
14 to 18 inches wide, and 2 thick; 30 planks ditto, from 27 to 36 
inches wide, and 2 thick ; 80 boards, from 27 to 36 inches wide, 
and 1 inch thick ; 1233 boards ditto, 14 to 22 inches wide, and 1 
thick." I give these dimensions and numbers to show the kind of 
timber producedby the mills of Amapala and Chichigalpa. This 
small cargo exhausted the entire stock on hand at both mills. 

A considerable quantity of lumber goes from both places to 
Peru and Bolivia. 

The commercial intercourse between Honduras and the United 
States is based upon the treaty ratified in Washington in July, 
1826, between Don Antonio Jose Canas, minister plenipoten- 
tiary of the Central American Republic and the United States. 
This convention was celebrated during the administration of 
President Manuel Jose Arce, in the second year after the fall of 
Iturbide. 

On the dissolution of the Union in 1838, the different states 
tacitly adopted this treaty without important alterations. The 
ports of Amapala and La Brea in the Gulf of Fonseca, and those 
of Truxillo and Omoa in the Caribbean Sea, have since been 
made ports of entry, in addition to those of La Union and Omoa, 
specified as entrepots in the last treaty. The port of Concor- 
dia, near Acajutla, on the Pacific coast of San Salvador, was 
also thrown open to commerce in 1853. All ports recognized 
{hahilitados) by the laws are open to vessels of every nation at 
peace with the republic, and manifesting no opposition to its in- 
dependence. 



DUTIES AND IMPOSTS. 563 

The law protects all merchandise through these ports, pro- 
vided that the regulations of the tariiF are complied with, and 
that the duties which it imposes are paid. The articles speci- 
fied as duty free are books printed or in manuscript, bound or 
stitched ; instruments adapted to science ; music, printed or in 
manuscript ; instruments and implements of agriculture, mines, 
arts, and trades ; the seeds of plants not cultivated in the re- 
public ; gold and silver, whether in bullion or coin. The mer- 
chant importing coin and merchandise in the same vessel is al- 
lowed a deduction of two per cent, upon an amount of merchan- 
dise equal to the amount of coin. 

All produce of every nation at peace with the republic is ad- 
mitted into ports of entry. The exportation of live cochineal 
and of se')nilla de xiquilite (or indigo seed) is alone prohibited 
by the treaty of 1826. The restriction probably does not now 
apply to Honduras, as the cochineal is not extensively culti- 
vated beyond Guatemala and San Salvador. All the produce; 
of the soil, excepting mahogany and dye-woods, and all manu- 
factures of the republic, are free of export duty, as is also all 
foreign produce and merchandise, provided they have paid the 
duty on importation ; but if the goods have not been reimport- 
ed from some other port of the republic, they will pay full im- 
port duties. Amapala was constituted a free port in 1846, the 
privilege to endure for ten years from that date. The now ex- 
pired term will doubtless be renewed at an ensuing session of 
the Legislature. 

Honduras has lately evinced an anxiety to cultivate mercan- 
tile relations with Europe, and particularly with the United 
States. The object of the mission of Seiior Barrundia in 1854 
was to throw open the resources of the state to the enterprise 
of the American people. His address is elsewhere referred to, 
and, but for the sudden death of its author, would doubtless have 
led to important results. The administration of Cabanas, so 
eminently progressive and liberal in its tendency, has, unfortu- 
nately, been overthrown by foreign influence, and a reactionary 
policy substituted, which seems destined to reproduce the an- 
cient system of exclusion and anarchy. 

In 1853, Central American exports to France, as shown by 
the Boletin Oficial of Costa Kica, were valued at 1,252,565 



564 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 

francs, and the value of imports from the same country at 86,902 
francs. In 1854, the exports to the same were 982,871 francs, 
and the imports 1,166,741 francs. The disparity, however, is 
not so great in the trade with Great Britain. 

Cattle, bullion, sarsaparilla, lumber, hides, deer-skins, silver 
ore, drugs, gold dust, India-rubber, cabinet and dye woods, 
rice, vanilla, turtle-shell, balsams, coffee, cochineal, indigo, cot- 
ton, cacao, fruit, sugar, and tobacco- — all in irregular and often 
extremely limited quantities, may be enumerated as the articles 
of export from both coasts of Central America, but the ten 
first mentioned comprise all carried frOm the sea-ports of Hon- 
duras. In addition to these might be added, if supported by a 
reasonable amount of commercial enterprise, the valuable arti- 
cles of horns, hoofs, tallow, bees'-wax, hohey, horses and mules 
(from Olancho), salt beef (from the same department), as rec- 
ommended by Mr. Bayley in the printed guide accompanying 
his map, and even cattle, could be shipped to American ports 
on the Gulf of Mexico. Large quantities of native' cheese are 
also sent by mule-trains from Olancho (the principal place of 
its production) to the other departments and to San Salvador. 
The cheese of the valleys of Agalta and Uloa is reckoned the 
best produced in Central America, and is so counted by Juarros 
and Bayley. It is coarse, salt, and hard, though much esteemed. 

In exchange for the above-named exports are received at 
Omoa and Truxillo, from England, Jamaica, Havana, Balize, 
and the United States, sperm candles, soap, shoes, boots, hard- 
ware, rigging, cottons, clothing, cheap manufactured goods, agri- 
cultural implements, and household ware. 

In the works of Dunlop, Henderson, Dunn, Thompson, and 
others, may be found brief statistics of the trade of Central 
America, but so limited and old as to be of little present value. 
Correct figures, however, are with difficulty obtained, as the 
Diarios and Gacetas in which such accounts are published are 
proverbially inaccurate. A series of articles, the results of per- 
sonal observation, recently published by one of the editors of the 
Panama Star and Herald^ " Costa Rica," by the German natu- 
ralist and traveler, Dr. Moritz Wagner, and the works of Ii'Ir. E. 
G. Squier, are the most reliable. 

While at Tigre Island I made the acquaintance of an intelli- 



IMPORTS. 565 

gent American gentleman, who for ten years had been engaged 
in mercantile pursuits in San Salvador, Honduras, and Nicara- 
gua. At my request, he kindly committed to paper the results 
of his experience, which are here inserted, as throwing some 
light upon the commercial affairs of the country. In relation 
to the trade of the five states, he states that it is only within the 
last eight years that commerce has been extensively conducted 
from the Pacific side ; previous to that time the great depot was 
in Balize and Jamaica, whence most of the merchandise was re- 
ceived. 

The credit extended to the merchants from these two places 
was very great, hut, with the settlement of California, the course 
of trade became gradually changed, and direct importations are 
made from the factors in Europe, although the merchants of 
England have lately curtailed the credit system, and advanced 
the rates of freights from $20 to $25 and $30 per ton, owing, 
probably, to the high rates of freight to Australia. 

The commerce of the United States with Central America 
would have been much enhanced had we succeeded in making 
good and sound commercial treaties, the staple articles of con- 
sumption of all the states being brown sheetings, brown drills 
(called, in Spanish, Mantalisa and Manta drills), which in the 
United States are manufactured much better than in England, 
where less cotton can be spared in their fabrication. For half 
a century, the English, French, and Italians have enjoyed a mo- 
nopoly of the lucrative trade with the Central American states. 
From England are received shirtings, sheetings, prints, and all 
cheap manufactured articles (most of which are made to order, 
to suit the trade), cutlery, ale, cloths, cassimeres, and earthen and 
wooden ware. The manufactured goods are usually of the most 
ordinary kind. From Italy are imported olives, sweet oil, ver- 
micelli, sardines, maccaroni, green cheese, sausages, silk goods, 
and many minor articles, which in the aggregate form a large 
importation. From France come vin ordinaire^ cognac, silks, 
prints, calico dress-patterns, cheese, mustard, gloves, shoes, cas- 
simeres, liquors, &c. From California are imported quicksilver 
(duty free), powder, agricultural implements, machinery, flour, 
potatoes, preserved meats, pickles, wine, spirits, furniture, jewel- 
ry, clothing, fire-arms, boats, oils, &c. 



566 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDUKAS. 

Rice, hides, indigo, tobacco, silver ore, and pure silver (pla- 
ta Ibruta) in bars, constitute tbe chief exports of San Salva- 
dor. The production of indigo varies annually as to quantity, 
owing to causes over which the producer has no control ; but, 
from statistics, it can be set down, for the last seven years, at 
an average of about 60,000 ceroons (of 150 lbs. net) per annum, 
at a cost to the purchaser placed in La Union or Sonsonate (the 
two principal ports) of about $90 the ceroon, including all 
charges, and ready to ship to a foreign market. The classifica- 
tion of all indigo in this state is by numbers, No. 9, or "i^Zores," 
being the maximum, and No. 1 the minimum — ^the lowest qual- 
ity or dregs. Indigo forms a medium of exchange for imported 
goods, about two thirds going direct to England, and the remain- 
der to Guayaquil, Valparaiso, and Germany. The merchants of 
San Miguel generally advance to the producers about one half 
the value of the crop. In the European markets. Central Amer- 
ican indigo ranks in value next to that of Bengal. The indigo 
crop of Guatemala amounts to about 4000 bales annually, and 
from 12,000 to 15,000 bales (of 100 lbs.) of cochineal. From 
8000 to 10,000 quintals of tobacco is annually shipped to Lima 
and Valparaiso from La Union and Sonsonate. Of the entire 
crop no reliable estimate can be made, though the article is a 
government monopoly, as great quantities are raised clandestine- 
ly for private use. 

Revenue and Moistopolies.^ — The same deplorable lack of 
data debars the arrival at any reliable estimate of the revenue 
of Honduras. With every political change, the amounts have 
been altered to suit the views of the temporary rulers. Among 
the estancas, or government monopolies which are let out to 
the highest bidders, are the manufacture and sale of tobacco, 
aguardiente, and the right to open ^^ patios de gallos,'''' or cock- 
pits, during funciones ; there are also duties on the exporting 
of cattle, mules, and horses, and such commercial imposts as are 
recited elsewhere in this chapter. Another source of revenue to 
the Spanish colonial government, as it is still to the republican 
states, was the issuing of sealed or stamped paper, known as 
'■^jpapel sellado.''^ Transfers of property, grants, mortgages, and 
contracts could only be legally made on this paper, which is sold 
at the office of the Intendente de Hacienda of each department 
at the following standard prices : 



COINS AND CURRENCY. 567 



Sello Primero, 1st class.... 

" 2d " .... 

'• " 3d " .... 


....$16 

12 

8 


Sello Seffundo 


.$3 


" Tercero 

" Cuarto, 1st class... 
2d " . 


...4 reales 
...1 real 


" 4th " .... 


i 


...1 medio 



The dollar referred to is of copper, rating from 15 to 17 to 
the "t??«'(9," or silver dollar. Sometimes, however, these are re- 
ceived as low as 12 and as high as 25 to the dollar, as the abun- 
dance or scarcity of copper money at the time may dictate. 
These stamps or seals were renewed every two years under the 
viceroyalty, as they now are annually ; but at present simply 
the date is given, with no attempt at ornament. In times of 
public peril, or when the government demands funds for mili- 
tary purposes, the rates are increased at the decree of the exec- 
utive or Legislature. The national finances are also augment- 
ed at such times by contributions levied upon the wealthiest cit- 
izens, though not to the ruinous extent practiced in Nicaragua. 



CHAPTER XXX. 



Coins and Currency, — ^Weights and Measures. — The Department of Olancho. — 
The Guayape or Patook River. — Timber Trees. — Cabinet and Dye Woods. — 
Staple Productions. — Wild and cultiTated Enuts. — Drugs, Balsams, and me- 
dicinal Plants. 

Coins and Cuerenct. — During the viceroyalty, the limited 
commerce of Central America was conducted on the basis of a 
provincial currency and the coins of the Spanish realm. The 
first are rarely met with, and I saw but two during my stay in 
the country. After the Independence, the first republican mon- 
ey was coined in 1822 at Guatemala, and all subsequent issues 
of the various states, up to the disunion in 1838, appear to have 
been made under the republic. From that period each state 
adopted its own republican currency, but retaining, with few ex- 
ceptions, the emblem or device of the confederation — five volcanic 
peaks surmounted by a rising sun. There was also the rude pro- 
vincial coin known as macaco, or cut money, which appears to 
have been chipped from thin sheets of native silver, without re- 
gard to size or form, and afterward reduced to standard weights. 
A great quantity of this is stiU in circulation. Mexican, Span- 
ish, and all South American doubloons are valued at $16, and 



568 



EXPLORATIONS IN HONDUEAS. 



GOLD AND SILVER COINS OF CENTRAL 
AMERICA. 



GOLD. 





H.'.LF Doubloon, $7.75. 



DOTTBLOON, $15.50. 




Pistole, $3.50. 




Half Pistole, $1.75. 




SILVER. 





Two Reals, 24 cts. 



Eight Reals, $1.00. 



COINS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 



569 



SILVER. 




Two Reals, 24 cts 





Tv. o Reals, 24 cts. 



Two Eeals, 24 cts. 





EeaIj, 12 cts. 





Keat,, 12 cts. 



Half Eeal, 6 cts. 



570 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

the silver coins of Iboth continents circulate without question as 
to their relative worth, though all have their commercial value 
at the custom-houses. 

But the principal money of Honduras is a debased copper 
coin from the mint of Tegucigalpa, the first issue of which was 
made under the state government immediately after the disrup- 
tion of the republic. Originally this contained a proportion 
of silver, and was readily received by the people as a circula- 
ting medium, under the name of '■'■ M^oneda provisional del JEs~ 
tado de Sonduras,^^ stamped around its circumference. But, 
as the necessities of the successive governments became more 
urgent, the issues were vitiated, until at present they are but 
pure copper. These, as I have before remarked, though origi- 
nally passed at the rate of sixteen to a silver dollar, with the 
name of ''■jpesos de cohre^'' (copper dollars), have now depreci- 
ated to half that nominal value, and in some parts of the state 
they are absolutely refused. Twenty or thirty pounds weight 
of this coin is often passed fi-om hand to hand in local trade. 
It follows that the traveler should provide himself with enough 
silver change to meet all his wants when passing from the coast 
toward the large towns of the interior. 

Foreign speculators, in later years, have bought up all of the 
original issues for the silver contained in them, and during the 
administrations of Lindo and Cabaiias plans were proposed for 
the withdrawal of the whole debased money and the issue of a 
new currency. The poverty of the state and the troublous con- 
dition of political affairs have prevented this laudable design. 
The whole was to have been recalled by a German company, 
who were prepared to pay the state a reasonable percentage for 
the privilege.* The course of the bullion exported from Cen- 
tral America is shown, by the few data in existence, to have 
been to Spain, England, and Germany. The amount produced 

* The public debt of Honduras is due principally to British bondholders. It 
is stated by Senor Carlos Gvitierrez, formerly Under Secretary of the Treasury, 
to be $350,000. A portion of this is the debt of the viceroyalty and the old re- 
public, which was afterward assumed pro rata by the states, no part of the in- 
terest of which, as relates to Honduras, has ever been paid. The same authority 
estimates the revenues of the state at $300,000, and the annual export of silver 
bullion at $500,000. Some small indemnifications for damages sustained during 
the wars were paid to native claimants in 1855, by pledging the customs, but 
such adjustments are extremely rare. 



COINAGE.— MINING. 571 

can not be estimated, OAving to the entire absence of statistics, 
upon wliich to base any approach to a reliable statement. In 
Chapter XXV. I have inibodied some brief facts upon this 
subject, but these are quite unsatisfactory, and scarcely merit 
the space allotted to them. It would appear, however, that 
$6,004,214, as the amount of gold and silver coined at one 
mint in thirty years, might be believed, when contrasted with 
the recently-published enormous statements of the coinage of 
Mexico, where the gold and silver mines were of a similar de- 
scription, and worked in the same manner as those of Central 
America. A document pubHshed at Mexico in 1855 states that 
there was struck at the mint of Mexico, in 1690, coin of the 
value of five million piastres; from 1700 to 1800, during a cen- 
tury, the quantity augmented each year, and at last reached 
twenty-five millions of piastres. This was, however, the culmi- 
nating point of the annual fabrication. In 1810 it was reduced 
to seventeen millions ; in 1817 it had declined to only half 
a milHon ; then rose, in 1838, to a million and a half; in 
1850, to two millions ; in 1852, to two millions and a half; 
and in 1854, to nearly four millions, or one million less than in 
1690. 

That vast sums must have been taken from the mines, we 
may infer from the numbers of Indian laborers who, in the 
viceroyalty of Guatemala, were obliged to work as slaves in the 
mines of all the states. Juarros, quoting Fuentes, states that 
in the valley of Sensenti, in Honduras, an alcalde mayor was 
appointed to receive the king's fifths of the products of incredi- 
bly rich gold mines, in which slaves were employed, and that 
this officer had the power of compelling one fourth of the In- 
dians within a circuit of twelve leagues to labor in them. It is 
also stated by Rev. G. W. Bridges, who has written upon the 
history of Jamaica and the adjacent main land, that " a million 
Indians perished in the service of the conquerors in working the 
mines of Honduras."* It is thus evident that, during the period 
above referred to in Mexico, a sum not much inferior must have 
been extracted from the mines of the kingdom of Guatemala. 
The neglect shown by the Spaniards in matters of record and 
statistics is most forcibly illustrated by Humboldt's estimate 

* Annals of Jamaica, vol. ii., p. 129. 



572 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

of the gold and silver product of Guatemala (Central America), 
against which he sets " none." 

Comparatively a small portion of the gold and silver taken 
from the mines was coined in the country, if we may judge by 
the limited amount of colonial money now in circulation. Much 
more than would be supposed from the primitive habits of the 
people has been worked into jewelry, for the mounting of sad- 
dles and other ornamental purposes. Considerable quantities 
of Guayape gold are also annually exchanged for foreign manu- 
factured goods at the fair of San Miguel. 

American gold is received without hesitation in the principal 
towns, but is regarded with suspicion in the villages and along 
the road, there being a general distrust of its purity. English 
and all European gold and silver is more current. Spanish, 
Mexican, and South American ounces (doubloons) are better 
known, but it is difficult to exchange any large gold coin except 
in the capitals and local commercial centres of departments. 

A pamphlet printed by the Academia Literaria at Teguci- 
galpa in 1853, entitled " Conocimientos Utiles,'''' contains the fol- 
lowing, in relation to the relative value of coins in Honduras : 

The ounce (onza) contains 4 doblones (not doubloons), and is valued at $16. 

" doblon " 2 escudos (crowns), " " 4. 

" escudo (de k real) 2. 

" escudo (de a medio) 1. 

" peso (dollar of silver) contains 2 tostones or 8 reales. 

" toston contains 2 pesetas or 4 reales. 

" peseta " 2 reales or 4 medios. 

" real " 2 medios or 4 cuartiUos. 

" cuartillo " 2 octavos. 

In the payment of commercial duties, the dollar and its frac- 
tions is received as in the United States. The franc is valued 
and received at 19 cents, or 1^ real, and a quarter of an octavo, 
5 francs being thus valued at 7|^ reales and \\ octavos. The 
pound sterling {Lihra esterlina) is valued at 37 reales, the shil- 
ling (English) at 1 1 real. 

An ounce of pure silver is divided into 12 dineros, and this 
into 24 granos. An ounce of coined silver {^lata acunada) 
should contain 10 dineros and 20 grains of pure silver, and 28 
grains of copper. This is the " lei de la moneda.'''' 

Weights and Measuees. — These are founded on the Span- 



WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 573 

isli system, as is the case in most Spanish- American countries. 
The commercial weight is — 

The quintal contains 4 arrobas = 100 pounds. 

" aiToba " 25 pounds (libras). 

" libra " 16 ounces (onzas)=(l lb. 4 drs. avoirdupois). 

" onza '' 16 adarnies (8 drachms). 

" adarme " 16 grains (granos). 
The libra also contains 2 marcs (marcos). 

" marco '■ 8 onzas. 

" onza " 4 quartas. 

'■ quarta " 4 artienzos. 

" artienzo " 39 granos (grains). 

There are also distinct weights for gold, as follows : 

1 libra contains 2 marcos. 

1 marco " 8 onzas. 

1 onza " 6 castellanos and 2 tomines. 

1 tomin " 12 granos. 

Thus an ounce of gold is divided into 50 tomines or 600 
granos. The Troy weight is invariably used in weighing silver. 
The " cahalleria," as understood in Central America, is 645,816g^ 
square yards ; its length is 1136^ varas, and its width 568 J va- 
ras. The term is said to have originated with the early set- 
tlers, who, in default of scientific surveyors, designated as "ca- 
Lallerias" sections of land that could be encompassed by a swift 
horse in a given time. In long measure the league is divided 
into 3 miles or 4 quartos, or 6666 varas and 2 tercias, and the 
mile into 2222 varas and 6 dedos. A manzana is 400 varas of 
circumference. The vara, or yard (of cloth measure), is divided 
into medias, tercias, cuartas, sesmas, ocharas, pulgadas, and de- 
dos ; it has 4 palmos, or 33.384 inches ; the palmo has 9 pul- 
gadas, or 8 1 inches ; the pulgada, or inch, has 12 limas ; 4 dedos 
are equal to 3 pulgadas ; the pie, or foot, has 11.128 inches ; 2^ 
varas are equal to a toise, or French yard, and a vara and 12 
dedos to the French ell. In dry measure the caliz has 12 fa- 
negas or 144 celemines ; the fanega, 1.599 bushel : the cele- 
mine is divided into halves, quarters, etc. In liquid measure 
there is the botta, equal to 30 arrobas ; the moyo, equal to 16 
arrobas ; and the azumbre, 8 of which (or 32 quartillos) are equal 
to an arroba. The arroba of wine is 4.245 gallons English ; 
the arroba of oil, 3^ gallons ditto. These, which are mainly 



574 EXPLOEATIONS IN HOKDUEAS. 

obtained from the Spanish tables, are corrupted in various parts 
of the state, each department having its local names, some of 
which are mixed with the Indian language, the inhabitants of 
one section scarcely comprehending the terms used in another. 
General Observations on the Department of Olan- 

CHO, AND THE GUAYAPE OR PaTOOK EiVER. — Olancho, though 

an integral portion of the republic of Honduras, is so far re- 
moved from the central government, and geographically sepa- 
rated from the rest of the state, as to have become, in some re- 
spects, a republic of itself, being virtually ruled by a number of 
ancient and rather aristocratic families. The population, cen- 
tring in the interior table-lands, extends in unnumbered ha- 
ciendas and pastoral villages nearly to the lowest terrace of the 
Cordilleras, and consists of a similar distinction of classes as is 
presented by Central America generally. These comprise the 
descendants of the early Spanish settlers (who have, perhaps, 
preserved their purity of blood more rigidly than in any other 
part of the state) ; the reduced or converted Indians (a peaceable 
and industrious race, occupying Catacamas and several smaller 
towns) ; the wandering uncivilized tribes inhabiting the mount- 
ain solitudes and coast savannas ; the Caribs, or Coast Indians, 
and a considerable number of negroes, mulattoes, and mestizos. 
The population may be placed at 50,000, about one tenth of 
whom are whites, six tenths Indians, and the remainder mesti- 
zos and mulattoes. 

Olancho comprises not far from a third of Honduras. It is 
considerably larger than the Central American republics of Cos- 
ta Eica or San Salvador, and is superior to either in the variety 
of its productions, which may be found enumerated in Chapter 
XXIX. It extends through three degrees of longitude and 
two of latitude, embracing about 12,000 square miles of terri- 
tory, and has not less than 200 miles of sea-coast. 

The department is divided from the adjoining one of Yoro by 
the Poyas, or Black River, and by a line intersecting its head- 
waters in the valley of Olanchito, and extending in a south- 
westerly direction to the continuous chain of mountains known 
as the Salto and Campamento ranges, which also separate it on 
the west from the Department of Tegucigalpa. These lines are 
understood in elections as the departmental boundaries ; no sur- 



OLANCHO. 575 

veys have ever been made, and the divisions are simply geo- 
graphical ones. The Wanks, or great river of Segovia, which 
is also the dividing line between Honduras and Nicaragua, 
forms the southern boundary of Olancho. 

In the interior, the Spanish settlements are divided into the 
municipalities of Jutecalpa, Santa Maria del Real, Silca, Manto, 
Salaman, Guayape, San Francisco de la Paz, San Estevan, 
Gualaco, Yocon, Concordia, and San Cristoval de Catacamas, 
the jurisdiction of each of which extends over the adjacent vil- 
lages. The inhabitants are hospitable, and more prosperous 
than in any other part of the state. Many hacendados arc 
wealthy, owning large tracts of grazing ground, and untold num- 
bers of cattle, horses, and mules. I saw in Olancho fewer in- 
stances of extreme poverty and beggary than in the other de- 
partments of Honduras. The uncivilized tribes are governed 
by no political organization, and have their own simple laws, 
with which the Spanish authorities have never attempted to in- 
terfere. 

The topography and climate have already been sufficiently 
alluded to. The country is drained by numerous rivers, some 
of which are the scene of mahogany-cutting enterprises. The 
principal one is the Guayape or Patook ; and as one of the ob- 
jects of my visit was to ascertain if this could be navigated, a 
brief abstract of the most reliable information I could coUect 
may prove of interest. 

The Guayape (from guayapin, an Indian female robe) is the 
most important river of Olancho, and, after leaving the plateaus 
of the interior, widens into one of the largest in Central Ameri- 
ca. It rises in the Campamento Mountains (where it may be 
traced a mere brook, with the name of Guayapita), increasing in 
size until it enters the picturesque valleys of Lepaguare and 
Galeras. Being joined by the Concordia, Chifilingo, Moran, 
Espaiia, and other mountain streams, it winds toward the Ca- 
masca hills through a nearly deserted country, and passes the 
city of Jutecalpa within about four miles, receiving near by the 
waters of the Rio de Jutecalpa, upon which the city is built. 
The Guayape here flows through a great plain. Following the 
base of several ranges that intersect the otherwise level country, 
it is increased, at a point ten miles below Jutecalpa, by the Ja- 



576 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

Ian, a considerable stream, rising in the mountains to the south- 
ward. The river, as far as the mouth of the Jalan, flows among 
open copses, undulating plains, and small, dome-like spurs, mak- 
ing from the hills down toward its course, and terminating in 
craggy banks, from which masses of stone have fallen to obstruct 
navigation. Canoes, however, frequently pass from Jutecalpa 
up to the hamlet of Aleman, but this route is for the most part 
disused, there being a practicable road or mule-trail between the 
two places. 

Below the Jalan the Guayape loses its turbulent character, 
and becomes a silent but swift river, being generally free from 
rocks in the place where I visited it, and during the rainy sea- 
son offering apparently an unobstructed navigation for light- 
draft vessels. In riding along the banks, intervening ranges 
and impenetrable woods often obliged us to make detours^ and 
thus large spaces of the river were not examined ; but conver- 
sations with the Indians and mahogany-cutters warrant a simi- 
lar description of the river down to where it is joined by the 
Guayambre. This conclusion is favored by the Guayape pass- 
ing for that distance through a generally level country, and be- 
ing augmented by numerous small rivers. 

The distance from the confluence of the Guayape and Guay- 
ambre to the Caribbean Sea is stated by Senor Ocampo, who 
has frequently passed from his mahogany-cuttings to the coast, 
to be 180 miles. A small manuscript description of the river, 
written by him at my request, says, " The Guallape is naviga- 
ble from the confluence of the Guayambre to the sea, a distance 
of sixty leagues by the ' vueltas del rid' (river windings). In 
the season of the rains, we pass with rafts of mahogany from 
the rivers Jalan and Guayambre into the Guallape, which we 
continue to call by that name down as far as the Rio de Taba- 
co, which enters from the south. The river is broad, but has 
several chiflones (rapids), which in summer, during low stages 
of water, impede navigation from the mouth of the Guayambre 
to a few miles below the Rio de Tabaco. From this point the 
river assumes the name of Patook, and below this there are nei- 
ther dangerous rapids nor sunken rocks, though the river de- 
scends with great velocity, often cutting abruptly through hilly 
and broken country," 



OLANCHO. 577 

From verbal descriptions, I ascertained that the space included 
between the Guajambre and the Corriente de Caoba is about 
thirty miles by the windings of the river, and in that space arc 
apparently the only obstructions to navigation between the plain 
of Jutecalpa and the sea. No falls appear to exist, but rather 
rapids, resembling those of Machucha and Mico, on the San 
Juan. These, however, must be exceedingly violent during the 
floods, when the mahogany-cutters commence rafting their logs. 
After passing the moutli of the Guayambre, the rafts float for 
about a mile without hinderance until they approach the chi- 
flones of Campaneros, Mangos, and Aguacaliente, occupying 
nearly a mile of the river. These show several large, high 
rocks in summer, which are covered during the floods, and here 
the pipantes of the natives are sometimes capsized by getting 
broadside to the current, while the occupants are attempting to 
guide the logs through the deep passages. The banks are pre- 
cipitous and wooded, and the bottom lined with rocks, which the 
action of the river has undermined and tumbled into its bed. 
Small steamers, such as are used on the San Juan, might pass 
without danger, if managed by a skillful pilot. 

The Guayape then flows quietly a few miles, when it con- 
tracts between precipitous banks, and passes rapidly through 
what is known as the Gajon Grande (Great Box), or Puerto 
de DeloJi. This place seems to be only formidable to the rafts- 
men from the velocity of the water. Three miles below the 
Guayape takes a sudden bend, forming a right angle, the lower 
bank presenting a face of bare granite, against which the river 
plunges with great force, and, recoiling, meets the descending 
current, which creates a violent whirlpool of tossing waves, 
known as El Molino (The Mill), or Cajoncito (Little Box). 
The greatest care is necessary to guide the rafts past these rap- 
ids, which Senor Ocampo represents as the most dangerous on 
the river. He was once capsized here in &, pipante, and only 
saved by the skill of his Indian boatmen. He thinks a river 
steamer would find no difficulty in passing this place. The 
rivers Gineo and Tabaco fall into the Guayape between eight 
and ten miles below, and four miles below the mouth of the lat- 
ter is encountered the Corriente de Caoha, or Mahogany Rap- 
ids. The river has here acquired a volume which passes the 

Go 



578 EXPLOEATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

rafts "without danger, and from this point the natives drop the 
name of Guayape (or Guallape) for that of Patook. The pi- 
2)antes, described in Chapter XIX., are from five to seven 
days on the route from Jutecalpa to the sea. From sixteen to 
twenty days are occupied in ascending the river. 

The Patook is augmented for the rest of the distance by 
several rivers, described as sufficiently deep to be navigated by 
keel vessels. The names of the principal ones taking their 
rise in the ranges which divide the great plains of the Patook 
from those of the Wanks or Segovia I was unable to obtain. 
The two largest flowing from the northward are the Cuyamel 
and Wampu. The river discharges by two mouths, the princi- 
pal one being at Point Patook, and the lesser into Brewer's La- 
goon. The first is described as having a shallow, sandy bar, 
through which makes a channel, having in the summer season 
from five to seven feet, as the violence of the wind and surf 
cause it to shift, fill up, or deepen, and in the winter or during 
the floods from nine to eleven. Mahogany traders anchor about 
half a mile outside the bar to receive their cargoes, and are al- 
ways prepared to slip and gain an offing should the weather 
threaten one of the sudden northers peculiar to these regions. 
It is possible that at spring-tides the water may deepen to four- 
teen feet on the bar. A volume of water passes out during the 
floods so great as to discolor the sea for some miles. Captain 
Countess, commanding his majesty's sloop Porcupine in 1786-7, 
thus describes the delta : " From Black Eiver to Cape Gracias 
a Dios we kept along the shore, sounding in from seven to ten 
fathoms. Off Patook River, which lies at a considerable dis- 
tance from Black River, we observed the fresh water, where it 
joined the sea, form a distinct line as far as we could see, being 
brown and muddy, and had the appearance of a shoal. When 
in it, we found the water nearly fresh. At the time of this 
alarming appearance there was a flood in the river." Little is 
known of the mouth of the Patook ;the only persons who, from 
actual observation, are able to speak of it, are Indians and ne- 
groes, or the few Balize traders in mahogany and dye-woods, 
who have probably never given a thought to the river or the 
unknown interior whence it flows. 

The arm or lesser mouth by which the river discharges into 



PRODUCTIONS. 579 

Brewer's Lagoon is stated to be little inferior in size to the other. 
For many years a collection of driftwood has formed a perma- 
nent raft near where it enters the lagoon. This extends entirely 
across the river, and sustains a growth of trees and parasitical 
vines resembling the main land : the Indians haul their canoes 
across this when bound to the little settlement below. The tide 
ebbs and flows under it, and at times the whole has been over- 
flowed without disturbing its matted solidity. A plan has been 
proposed by a number of Balize traders for the removal of this 
raft, as a free passage into the lagoon would greatly fc^cilitate 
the transportation and loading of mahogany. 

The body of water known as Brewer's Lagoon is separated 
from the sea by a narrow strip of land and rock scarcely a mile 
in width. The inlet is about fifteen miles long by five or six 
wide, and has several small islands, the resort of the coast In- 
dians for fish, which abound among the rocks skirting them. 
One of these is said to have been originated in the seventeenth 
century ; the anchor of a pirate vessel being left there, it 
caught the passing driftwood, until, in the lapse of years, it be- 
came an island, constantly increased by alluvial deposits. The 
anchorage is described as good, and the water of sufficient depth 
to admit vessels drawing ten feet. The channel to the sea is 
near the " spit" or point, between which and the main land the 
passage is extremely narrow. Its depth is said to be about 
equal to that at Point Patook. Brewer's Lagoon might be made 
a depot for commerce with the Spanish settlements, could com- 
munication be re-established with the main Patook, and suffi- 
cient energy be manifested in the interior to warrant the enter- 
prise. 

Natueal Peoductions. — A simple enumeration of the best- 
known woods, plants, and fruits of Central America is perhaps 
the most comprehensive method of setting forth its vast natural 
resources, which, with few exceptions, are common alike to each 
of the states. The subjoined list by no means comprises the 
rare botanical treasures of Honduras. Specimens of most of 
those mentioned are now in my possession or have passed under 
my observation ; others have been obtained by personal inquiry, 
and compiled from the best authorities. The field presented 
throughout the country, in every department of natural science, 



580 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

is yet untrodden, and not excelled in America for interest and 
variety. Forests of valuable woods, and exhaustless indigenous 
fruits and drugs, remain silent and unclaimed as at the creation. 

A short journey from regions teeming with rank vegetation 
and every tropical product brings the traveler among the fruits 
of the temperate zone, where, in modest contrast to mangoes, 
oranges, and bananas, swelled by torrid heats into golden matu- 
rity, cluster the less luscious but more familiar peach, cherry, 
and apple of the North. Here the cereals common to New En- 
gland rustle their sheaves in the breeze, and gaunt pines and up- 
land oaks, draped in sober habiliments of lichens and moss, 
sway in the mountain gales. 

Every variety of climate, generally avoiding the distressing 
extremes of each, is included within the limits of Honduras, and 
here may be cultivated a large majority of the natural produc- 
tions known to man. At an elevation of 3500 to 5000 feet 
above the sea, wheat reaches a remarkable degree of perfection. 
Rice, on the upland plateaus, without submersion, beans, corn, 
potatoes, squashes, and all garden vegetables, flourish, while the 
wild rose, morning-glory, and other familiar flowers grow spon- 
taneously, or are cultivated in many localities. The blackberry 
vine and sensitive-plant clamber among the rocks or spread over 
the grassy slopes, and the stranger, as he faces the norther that 
whistles keenly through the gorges of the sierras, can scarcely 
realize that he is within the tropics, and almost in sight of the 
region of the palm and plantain, and the green foliage of the 
eofiee, sugar-cane, cacaa, and indigo plants. It is here that Na- 
ture, robed in her fairest garb, seems to have fascinated the in- 
heritors of her charms into listless inaction with the very excess 
of beauty. 

To the agriculturist, the merchant, the scientific explorer, or 
the aimless adventurer, Honduras, rich in natural advantages, 
throws open her portals, and offers tO' the world a share in those 
treasures that only wait the magic touch of Industry to reward 
the labors of all. A brief sketch of the most common produc- 
tions of the soil, considering in turn the richly-grained cabinet 
timber of commerce, the precious drugs of the pharmacist, and 
dye-woods, balsams, and fruits, many of them almost unknown 
beyond the obscure region of their origin, will partly serve to 



PRODUCTIONS. 581 

illustrate their variety, and perhaps lead to their future special 
discussion. 

Timber, and Cabinet and Dye-woods. — Algarbo (hard 
and red-colored), alcornoque (cork-tree), aguacate (alligator pear- 
tree), achote (heart-leaved bixa), algodonezo (see ceiba), alga- 
gia, almendrillo (almond-tree), amarilla de Guayaquil (both used 
for building), bamboo (sappan-tree?), barablanca, buttonwood, 
boxwood, birds'-eye maple, carne tuelo (black thorn-tree), cedro 
(cedar, black and red), ceiba (silk-cotton-tree, JBomhax Ceibd), 
cayelac (sweet-scented wood), caoba (mahogany-tree), cedro es- 
pino, cedro amargo, cedro cebollo (varieties of a hard, durable 
wood ; not the cedar), cedro pasaya, cedro bueno (varieties of 
the red cedar), cocolobo, cocobello ? (very hard, durable, and beau- 
tiful, much used in cabinet-making), cano bianco (used in mak- 
ing laths), cubo, cope (rarely used for building), carbon (char- 
coal-tree), copal-tree, copaiba-tree, copaljocol (bearing a small, 
cherry-like fruit), camwood, cacique or macano (very durable), 
Cristobal, chiraca, caray (tortoise-shell-wood), cottonwood, cor- 
rotu, ebano (ebony), espino bianco, espino amarillo, €spino ne- 
gro (varieties of the buckthorn), espabe, esquinsuche, encina 
(evergreen oak), eboe algrova, fustic-tree, guayaco or guaya- 
can (lignum vit^-tree, Guaiacuni), guayabilla (wild guava-tree), 
guapinol, guachipalin (hard and beautifully variegated), grana- 
dilla (black, and very hard and durable), guanacaste (very large, 
and easily worked), guajinijili, indio desnudo, ijerilla, jisote, ju- 
chicopal, lima wood, locust, lechemaria, liquidamber-tree, ma- 
teare, madiera negra (used to shelter the young trees on cacao 
estates), malvecino, mangle (mangrove), mangle caballero (af- 
fords good timber), mora (yellow and hard), manzanilla, man- 
zanito, mohoe (or Alth^a), madroiio (wild strawberry-tree), man- 
zanita, madre cacao, madroiia de montana, naraco nigrito, nis- 
pero (de montana and real), nazareno (very beautiful), naran- 
gito, palo negro, palo amarillo, palo santo, palo penca (rope- 
tree), palo de vala, palo de rosa (rosewood), palo Campeche (log- 
wood), palo de Nicaragua (Nicaragua wood, a species of Brasil- 
ita), paraiso, palma (palm of many varieties), palma Christi, 
quebracha (or palo hacha, a species of ironwood), quiza (fine- 
grained and difficult to work), quipo (laurel), roble (oak), ronron 
(a very beautiful cabinet wood, fine-grained, and striped with 



582 EXPLORATIONS IN HONDURAS. 

red and yellow), reseda (a species of rosewood), sapodillo, satin- 
wood, sancuya, Santa Maria, San Juan (red and yellow grained), 
sumac, sapote, sabina (savin), sum wood, sauce (willow), taray 
(hard and fine-grained), torro (beautiful, and much used in cab- 
inet-work), tamarindo (tamarind-tree), tiucinte, totuna, ule, or 
caoutchouc (India-rubber-tree), zebra wood. 

Staple Productions. — Coffee, casava, cacao (cocoa), choco- 
late, cochineal, cotton, corn, indigo. India-rubber, pita (Sisal 
hemp or jenican), rice, sugar-cane, tobacco, wheat. 

Wild and Cultivated Feuits. — Anona (custard apple), 
albaricoque (apricot), aguacate (alligator pear), anchovy pear, al- 
godon silvestre (wild cotton or silk), alberchigo {ipeach, Amyg- 
dalus Persica), bread-fruit, cocoanut, citron, coroso, chirimoya, 
cereza (cherry), cayonito, cotoperice, ciruela (nectarine), cidra 
(a species of aromatic wild lemon), camote, durazno (peach), 
granada (pomegranate), granadilla (wild pomegranate), guayaba 
(guava), gineo (banana), guanava (soursop), guacal (mammoth 
calabash), higo (fig), higuerra (calabash), jocote (wild plum), ji- 
caro (a dwarf calabash)^ limone, lima (lime), melone, maranon, 
manzana rosada (rose apple), mamaya {Mammee Saj)ota, mam- 
me-apple), mango, melocoton (in Spanish, the common peach, 
but applies in Central America to an indigenous fruit resem- 
bling a large peach), manzanita (a small acidulous fruit resem- 
bling the cherry), mora (local name for the blackberry), mem- 
brillo (quince), manzana (common apple), nispero, naranja (or- 
ange), olive, ocumo, platino (plantain), papaya (fruit of the pa- 
paw-tree), pina (pine-apple of three varieties), pipaya, pera (pear), 
prisco (species of plum), perone, pitahaya,pejibayo, sandilla( wa- 
termelon), uva (grape), vegetable ivory, zapote or mamey {Za- 
■jpote Mdmey). 

Deugs, Medicinal Plants, and Peecious Gums.* — ^Aloes, 

*L'AssembIee Nationak of October 1st, 1855, in its description of the Great 
Exhibition in that year at Paris, refers to the botanical collection foi-warded by 
the government and " Sociedad Economica" of Guatemala. The samples were 
not accompanied by the botanical names, or descriptive marks or notes, but was 
considered a rare contribution. Of cabinet and dye-woods there were numerous 
specimens, among the latter the Capulin cimarron and the Campeche wood. Among 
the medicinal plants was the Polygala, an ipecacuanha said to have been recently 
discovered by a native pharmacist ; the Lobelia inflata, used as a diaphoretic (pos- 
sibly a species of the Lophanthus ?), said to be peculiar to Mexico ; and a small 
plant resembling the Eryngium nasturtifolium of Mexico. In the collection of 



PRODUCTIONS. 583 

almarcigo (mastic), anata (Bixa Orelland), anota, anis (anise- 
seed), arrow-root, acluote, agave, amole, amate, achiote (or anot- 
ta), ajonjoli (a purge), ario (ditto), bainilla (vanilla), balsame ne- 
gro (black balsam), balsamito, caoutchouc (India-rubber), copal, 
cowliage {I)olichos PruHeni)^ copalchi (quinine), caiiafistola 
(cassia), camphor (?), cinnamon, contrayerba (a species of the 
Dorstenia of Linna3us), castor-oil plant, cedron (antidote), citron, 
caraway, capsicum, chichicasta (species of cowhage), eryngo (an- 
tidote), estonaque (frankincense), fustic, foxglove, friagaplata (a 
purge), gum arable, gum copaiba, gum copal, gum myrrh, gum 
tragacanth, gum elastic (ule), gum zacarina,* ginjebre (ginger), 
guaco (antidote), guasguyas, guachacare, genesero, Incas sylves- 
tris, ipecacuanha, jalapa, Jesuit's bark, juchicopal, lobelia, liquid- 
amber, linseed, lona mana,* mastic, madder, ocra, pimento-gor- 
do (allspice), palma Christi, pinon, rhubarb, sarsaparilla, sumac, 
sassafras, smilax, snake-root, sago, silk-cotton, sangre de drago 
(Dragon's-blood), tacamahaca, tuna, toronja, vanglo (oil-plant). 

gums appeared dragon's-blood and gum elastic ("called wfe"), quite different 
from that of Mexico. The heart-leaved bixa (a dye-wood), and some specimens 
of a fruit or grains resembling nutmegs ; the Myristica sebifera of Guiana are also 
mentioned ; and a straw, used for the manufacture of cigar- wrappers and hats, 
called "Panama," like the Carludovico of Bolivia. 

* " Don Cosme Mora encontr6 en el lugar Uamado Gualora de la isla del Tigre, 
un arbol lleno de cierto goma que la expelia en abundancia en su tronco j ra- 
mas y habiendole examinado, encontro que era exactamente mana. Los exper- 
imentos que de ella hizo, y el voto de Licenciado Don Jose Silva que la recono- 
cio, persuadieron al descubridor de que positivamente era la misma goma zaca- 
rina, y purgante que nos traen de Sisilia y de la Calabria." — Golpede Vista sobre 
Honduras. 



INDEX. 



Aboriginal inhabitants, 650-555 ; re- 
mains in the Department of Coma- 
yagua, 552 ; in Department of Olan- 
cho, 553. 

Academia Literaria, 206, 549- 

Agarrapata, 372. 

Agouti, 362. 

Air-gun, 407. 

AlHgator, 35, 144, 390. 

Allspice, 250. 

Almendarez River, 267. 

Amalgamation of races, 196. 

Amapala, port of, 126 ; town of, 127, 
130, 138 ; trade of, 138. 

Amusements, 216, 326, 327, 332, 551. 

Antelope, 134, 299. 

Antidotes, 403, 405. 

Antimony, 537. 

Arce, President Jose Manuel, message 
of, 470. 

Assembly, National, 471, 474, 479. 

Aztecs, 556. 

B. 

Baptism, 210. 

Barrundia, Jose Francisco, 184; iiin- 

ister to United States, 511 ; address 

of, to President Pierce, 512 ; death 

of, 512. 
Bay-tree, 269. 
Bees, 384. 
Begging, 203. 
Birds, wild, 45, 103, 122, 136, 165, 195, 

309, 351, 359, 360, 361, 370, 398, 399. 
Bongo, furniture of. Ill ; sailing in, 122. 
Boxwood, 344. 
Brewer's Lagoon, 579. 
Bull-fighting, 331, 333. 



Cabaiias, General Jose Trinidad, 92, 



182 ; interview with, 184 ; public ca- 
reer of, 480, 489, 495, 502, 503, 505, 
508, 511, 517. 

Cabinet-woods, 307, 581. 

Cacho, Jose Maria, 190, 517, 537. 

Calentura, 104, 128, 388, 548, 549. 

Campamento, village of, 263; goldwash- 
ings of, 264, 266 ; women of, 265. 

Cane, 219. 

Carrera, General Eafael, 477, 478, 481. 
499, 514. 

Cassava, 219. 

Castellon, President Francisco, 91, 92. 
96, 99, 508. 

Catacamas, Indian town of, 395. 

Cattle, 249, 386. 

Cedars of Olancho, 302. 

Central America, condition of, in 1854. 
92 ; trade of, 226 ; historical sketch 
of, 449-522. 

Cerro de Ule, 174 ; storm on, 175, 177. 

Chamorro, President Fruto, 91, 92. 

Chatfield, Mr., 390. 

Chichilaca, 383. 

Chinandega, town of, 67, 72 ; evening 
scene in, 78. 

Chocolate, method of preparing, 193. 

Cholera, 549. 

Churches — of Rivas, 47, 48; of Chinan- 
dega, 72 ; of Leon, 88, 95 ; of Viejo. 
108 ; of Tegucigalpa, 187 ; of Jute- 
calpa, 325, 332. 

Cigars, smoking of, 75 ; manufacture 
of, 408. 

Cinnabar, 166, 367, 537. 

Cinnamon, 363. 

Climate, 30, 253, 277, 300, 316, 336, 540 
-547. 

Coal, 152,539. 

Cock-fighting, 216. 

Cocoa estates, 42. 

Cofradilla, village of, 242, 423. 



586 



INDEX. 



Concepcion, village of, 339 ; flower of, 
371. 

Conchagua, volcanoes of, 135, 445. 

Consiguina, volcano of, 118, 120, 445 ; 
Wafer's description of, 119 ; great 
eruption of, 230, 231. 

Copper, 336, 365, 366, 440, 536. 

Cordilleras, outfit for, 101 ; traveling 
over, 157, 158, 159, 167. 

Cortez, in Honduras, 452. 

Costa Rica, history of State of, see His- 
torical Sketch. 

Coiu-iers, 199. 

Coyol-tree, 374. 

Dancing, 209, 226, 357. 

Deer, 54, 134, 299, 399 ; skins of, 403. 

Diseases, 547. 

Dress, of women, 75, 106 ; of children, 

228 ; of men, 228. 
Drugs, 582, 583. 
Dwelling-houses — in Nicaragua, 40, 73 ; 

in Honduras, 195 ; furniture of, 215. 
Dye-woods, 581. 

E. 

Earthquakes, 230, 233. 

El Boqueron, mountain of, 383. 

El Espumoso, 411. 

El Real, town of, 385. 

El Retiro, 343. 

El Sitio, hacienda of, 219. 

El Viejo, volcano of, 61 ; town of, 108. 

Esposescion, island of, 143. 

Estero Real, 113. 

F. 

Falls of Moran, 298. 

Farrallones, 445. 

Ferrera, General Francisco, 480 

Fish, 35, 143, 212, 368. 

Fishing, 213, 356, 417, 418. 

Flowers, 195. 

Fonseca, Bay of, 118, 124, 445. 

Fruit, 47, 71, 74, 104, 190, 219, 582. 

G. 

Gage, Thomas, his description of Leon 

in 1699, 94. 
Galeras, hacienda of, 296, 302. 



Gambling, 203, 217, 334. 

Gold, washing, 280, 281, 282, 287, 289, 
308, 320, 343, 354 ; placers of Olan- 
cho and Yoro, 530-536 ; legends of, 
376. 

Gonzales River, 51. 

Guanaja, island of, 450. 

Guardiola, General Santos, 498, 516, 
517, 519. 

Guasaripe River, 180. 

Guatemala, history of State of, see His- 
torical Sketch. 

Guava, wild, 177. 

Guayahilla mine, account of, 442, 444. 

Guayape River, 234, 270, 271, 283, 297, 
338, 397, 398; description of, 567, 
568, 575, 576 ; discovery of, 453. 

Guaymaca, village of, 254, 256, 422; 
volcano of, 258. 

Guerrillas, 105. 

Gums, 582. 

H. 

Hail-storm at Tegucigalpa, 189. 

Honduras, aboriginal inhabitants of, 449 
-459 ; commerce, exports and im- 
ports of, 558-566; early settlement 
of, 450 ; history of State of, see His- 
torical Sketch ; political divisions of, 
557 ; government of, 557 ; population 
of, 654, 557; productions of, 581- 
583 ; coins, currency, and public debt 
of, 567-571 ; revenue and income of, 
566, 567 ; silver mines of, 426-444, 
and 522-530 ; weights and measures 
of, 572, 573, 574. 

Honey, 384. 

Horsemanship, 292, 330, 340. 

Horses, 292, 330, 372, 373. 



Iguana, 141. 

India-rubber-tree, 369. 

Indians — of Olancho, 385, 452, 453; 

their conversion attempted, 457, 458, 

459 ; of Honduras, 555. 
Iron, 367, 537. 



Jaguar, 392. 
Jalan River, 345. 



INDEX. 



587 



Jasper, 366. 

Jutecalpa, town of, 311, 317, 324. 
Jutequilc, summit of, 369. 



La Rrca, port of, 147. 

Lasi Cuevas, 249. 

La Herradura, 375. 

La Lima, hacienda of, 270. 

La Venta, Aillage of, 1 08. 

Lejas River, 35. 

Leon, city of, 87, 91 ; plain of, 87, 103. 

Lepaguare, valley of, 271 ; hacienda of, 

272. 
Ijiquidamber, 321. 
Living, style of, 71, 192. 
Livingston, Dr. Henry, 89, 99. 
Loadstone, 367. 
Los Candeleros, 53. 

M. 

Macaw, 136, 397. 

Madder, 368. 

Mahogany, 341, 346, 354 ; cutting and 

rafting of, 349, 550, 351. 
Mansanita, 168. 
Marble, 366. 
Mastic-tree, 164. 
Merchandise, 225. 
Minas de Oro, 524. 
Mining terms, 429. 
Monkeys, 108, 382, 394. 
Monte Eos a, 344. 
Moore, Captain, 440. 
Morazan, General Francisco, leader of 

the Liberal party, 473, 475, 480; 

flight from Central America, 482 ; 

his return and death, 483-493. 
Moromulca River, 155. 
Mules, 159, 251, 296, 372. 
Murcielago, Bar of, 280. 
Music, 155, 208, 337, 410. 

N. 

Nacaome, town of, 149 ; climate of, 151. 

Xegroes, 198, 554, 555. 

Xicaragua, political condition of State 
of, 91, 93, 445 ; history of State of, 
see Historical Sketch ; Lake of, 33, 35. 

Kuera Arcadia, village of, 175. 



O. 

Obraje, village of, 51. 

Ochomogo, hacienda of, 55. 

Olancho, Department of, early explora- 
tions in, 451 ; gold region of, 233, 
289, 300, 304, 354, 415, 451 ; general 
obsen'ations on, 574, 575 ; topogi'aphv 
of, 575. 

Olancho Viejo, destruction of town of, 
378, 380. 

Ometepe, island of, 31, 34. 

Opals, 161, 537, 538, 539. 

Oracion, 51. 

Oysters, 143. 

P. 

Paciente, hacienda of, 83. 

Palm-tree, 374. 

Palo Verde, 365. 

Panther, 393. 

Patook River, description of, 578, 579. 

Pearls, 492, 539. 

Penuare, hacienda of, 383. 

Peruvian bark, 408. 

Pespire, town of, 162. 

Pine, region of, 170 ; forests of, 176 ; in 

Olancho, 378. 
Pipantes, 352, 353. 
Pita, hemp, 402. 
Plantain, 172, 400, 401. 
Plants, medicinal, 303, 363, 582, 583. 
Playa Grande, 114. 
Posultega, village of, 82. 
Potatoes, cultivation of, 193, 221. . 
Precious stones, 537, 538, 539. 
Productions, 41, 66, 161, 221, 580. 
PubUc instruction, 206, 549. 
Public speakers, eloquence of, 229. 
Puma, 393. 

Q. 

Quebracha, hacienda of, 356 ; lake of, 

360. 
Quicksilver, 530. 
Quinine, 408. 

R. 

Rail-road, Honduras Inter-oceanic, 130, 

131,456,511. 
Rain, 32, 37, 83, 101,114. 
Ramierez, Nolberto, 98. 



588 



INDEX. 



Realejo, port of, 62, 63, 64. 

Records of Olancho, 420. 

Religion, 76, 77, 88, 189, 325, 546, 547, 

551, 552. 
Rice, 408. 

Rio Abajo, village of, 238. 
Rio Grande, 178. 
Rio Ylimapa, 243. 
Rivas, town of, 87, 39, 40, 42, 47, 58. 



Sacate Grande, island of, 139. 

Salto, mountains of, 260; village of, 
259. 

San Francisco, hacienda of, 56, 344 ; 
convent of, at Realejo, 65 ; at Tegu- 
cigalpa, 207. 

San Juan del Sur, 26, 27, 59. 

San Miguel, volcano of, 231 -, fair of, 
294. 

San Roque, hacienda of, 372. 

San Salvador, history of State of, see 
Historical Sketch ; volcano of, 231 ; 
destruction of city of, 232. 

Santa Lucia, mining town of, 426, 427 ; 
peak of, 436. 

Sarsaparilla, 864". 

Savanna Grande, town of, 171. 

Scenery of Olancho, 278. 

Scorpion, 405. 

Sensitive plant, 268. 

Shops, 79 ; in Tegucigalpa, 190. 

Sierra, scenery in, 1 70, 257 ; storm on, 
252. 

Silver mines in Olancho, 365 ; in Tegu- 
cigalpa, 425-444- 

Silver ore, assays of, by Dr, Hewston, 
526 ; method of crushing and smelt- 
ing, 528, 529, 530. 

Slavery, 471, 472, 479. 

Snakes, 45, 403, 404. 

Sociedad Economica, 465. 

Soldiers, 205. 

Staple productions, 582. 

Sugar, manufacture of, 219. 

T. 

Talanga, valley of, 245 ; town of, 246, 
248, 422. 



Tamarinds, 329. 

Tapir, 359. 

Tapiscuente, 361. 

Tegucigalpa, city of, 180 ; condition of. 

186 ; climate of, 188 ; bridge of, 191, 

202; mint of, 210; shops in, 224. 
Temperature, 300, 543-547. 
Tiger, Central American, 140 ; hunting 

of, 141, 142 ; of Olancho, 393. 
Tigre Island, 125, 129, 133, 445. 
Timber-trees, 581 ; decaying of, 223. 
Tin, 537. 
Tiste, 204. 
Tobacco, 408. 
Tortillas, 84, 173, 193. 
Transit Route, 29. 
Trinidad, hacienda of, 172. 
Truxillo, town of, 225 ; founding of, 

451 ; account of, 456. 
Tusterique Hill, 244. 



Vanilla, 294. 
Vegetable ivory, 399. 
Viejo, town of, 108. 
Villa Nueva, 437. 
Virgin Bay, 31. 
Volcanoes, eruptions of, 232. 

W. 

Walker, Genera.1 William, 444, 479,- 

510. 
Waree, 319, 
Wax, 884. 
Wild silk, 355. 
Wolves, 894. 
Women — of Nicaragua, 74, 106, 107: 

of Honduras, hospitality of, 215, 226. 

227. 



Yuca,,220. 



Z. 



Zapato, Francisco Dias, 98 . 
Zempisque, port of, 109. 
1 Zinc, 587. 



THK END. 



,\^ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



015 840 035 2 i§^\ 



■■mm 



